Rayna's Game
by The Anonymous J
Summary: Rayna explores the world of Vampire Diaries, integrating herself within its story. Her main goal is to mold it to her survival. She feels like this isn't the first time she has been through something like this, but she can't conjure up the details of the previous times. Follow her along on her unnamed quest. Rated M for language, violence, & mature scenes. Updates as soon as I can.
1. Chapter 1

**Rayna's Game**  
A Vampire Diaries fanfic  
Anonymous J.

**Authors Note:** I'm debating whether or not I want to change stuff around. Like letting some people die, letting some people live, making sure some stuff doesn't happen. I would never change something that I didn't think couldn't be removed. I'd play with it first, and if I didn't like the way it was going, I would scrap it and start that part over. Let's just see how this goes. Also, forewarning. I will only be going so far in the series. If I don't procrastinate too hard, I plan on doing at least 1 season maybe 2 and 3. You'll understand why when we get there. If we last long with you reading and me not procrastinating. I don't go into much detail at all on appearance, so if you would like a visual of her looks every day/event, you can check it out on my URSTYLE account: The Anonymous J. There's actually a period after the J in my screen name. Just look for the ones with the title of this story (it'll be Rayna and a number – ex: Rayna 1). I might spring a few A/N's throughout the story. Enjoy! Also, I am writing a book – For Whom the Craft Tolls. If you like witchcraft fictions, check it out. It may not be that great, but I'm writing. LOL! Lastly, if you see any errors (spelling, grammar, and/or show information-wise), please let me know in the comments. I would prefer you did it next to the paragraph you see it in, but at the end is fine, too. Just note where. Please and thank you! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything Vampire Diaries. I only own the OFC and other OCs and any plot changes throughout this fanfic.

**Summary:** Rayna explores the world of Vampire Diaries, integrating herself within its story. Her main goal is to mold it to her survival. She feels like this isn't the first time she has been through something like this, but she can't conjure up the details of the previous times. Follow her along on her unnamed quest. Rated M for language, violence, and mature scenes.

**Rayna's Game**  
Chapter 1  
_Summer of Love Games (Part 1)_  
Preseason 1 (starts summer before S1)

I wake up suddenly but calmly, sitting on the ground of a wooded area and slumped up against a tree. I don't know where I am, but I do know to check my bag for my identification and whatnot. I don't know my name, birth date, or address, but I know those wouldn't be the case here anyway. The bag lays about a foot away from me, so I have to reach a little to my left to grab it. I pull it towards me and open it up, pulling out the wallet. I search the wallet for an ID and find one. The first thing to notice is the picture; I look somewhat young. I then scan the name, date of birth, and address. It shows that my name is Rayna Abremins. My last place of residence is stated to be a small town in Rhode Island. Next, I search for a phone. I grimace at how old it looks to me; it's a Samsung Galaxy (Original). According to the date and time on the phone, it says it's May 23, 2009, at 9:33 pm. Apparently, I'm privileged enough to get this phone a month before it comes out. Based on the year, plus the birth date on the ID, I would be 19 years of age here at the moment.

I finally decide it's time to get my ass up and figure out where I am. Using the tree to pull myself up, I do so slowly. Once on my feet, I grab the bag and pull up the map app on the smartphone to figure where I am and where I'm going. (I don't know if there was a map app then or if location services was a thing you could use on it, just go with it). Making sure location services was on and ready, I pull up an area map of my GPS location.

_Mystic Falls, VA_

Oh, okay - Vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, etc. I can work with this. I. Can work. With this. Wait- May 23, 2009, in Mystic Falls, VA. That's when Miranda and Grayson Gilbert go off the Wickery Bridge and die. The day when both Salvatore brothers officially lay eyes on Elena Gilbert. Quickly, I locate where the Falls area is and head in that direction. Thankfully, I'm not that far from where I think Damon and Elena first meet.

I arrive at the spot on the road away from the party; I can hear it just off in the distance. However, there's no Elena. I do see Damon laying on the ground in his usual trap. I walk over to him slowly and stop a few feet away. Leaning more on my right foot with my right hip cocked out a bit, I cross my arms and watch him. Eventually, he peeks an eye open to look at me. I just stare back, so he fully opens both eyes to really look at me.

"Are you done playing? Because there's no one else out here," I say with a lining of boredom.

He props up on his elbows as he asks, "You're not at all worried about a potentially dead or injured man, laying in the middle of a road?"

I smirk. I just know that I'm going to enjoy my time here. Well, until shit starts to really hit the fan...

"If you were injured, there would be blood, bruises, and/or odd angles," I start. "And before you say it, if you were passed out from a preexisting medical issue, you wouldn't be laying perfectly straight on your back," I continue. Waving my right hand out, palm up, "And, if you're dead, what the fuck do you want me to do about it? You're already dead."

He smirks, tilting his head at me. He stands up and brushes himself off. Suddenly, he's in front of me, staring into my eyes. His pupils dilate.

"Who are you?" He compels while holding my upper arms.

"I'm Rayna, and it's nice to meet you, too, Damon," I answer, completely unaffected by the compulsion.

His eyebrows furrow in confusion. I just give him a small smug smile. I walk out of his grip as I hear a car pull up.

"Excuse me," a man calls for our attention.

I walk in his direction, but not too close. I know who he is, Grayson Gilbert, but he doesn't know that I know him.

"Yes?" I question. I can also see his wife, Miranda, in the passenger seat. She's on her phone, probably texting Elena to find out where she is. I, myself, am surprised that they beat her to the spot.

"You haven't seen a teenage girl with brown hair and eyes, have you? She would've come from the party at the Falls," he asks. "She may have been upset."

"No, I'm sorry," I answer while looking behind me to pretend to look for her. In reality, I'm looking to see if Damon is still here. He's not, of course. "Just me out here. I needed a breather from the bonfire," I continue. "I can go check at the party for her."

"Thank you-" he starts, but something catches his attention. I look to see what has caught his attention. It's Elena, finally making her way to the spot. "There she is, but thank you for the offering."

I smile and wave at them, heading towards the party like I'm going back to it. I even throw out a "drive safe" just for my own shits and giggles. Once they're far enough away, I pull out my wallet again to see if I have any cash. When I feel that I have an adequate amount, I pull my phone out again and search for cab services in the area. They actually have an UberCab here, and it runs 24 hours a day. I call up one of the local drivers and request the service.

Once they arrive, I ask to be taken to the Salvatore Boarding House. He gives me a strange look. "That is still a boarding house today, right?" I question.

"It is, but they rarely get any guests anymore," he supplies.

"Well, good; maybe I'll get the whole place to myself," I say with a smile on my face.

We drive off to the boarding house, and, as we pull into the driveway, I can see Stefan just arriving. He's soaked to the bone. The crash must have happened during my Uber ride. I pay the man while opening my door and tell him to keep the change. It's just a few dollars. Stefan was already looking at me from the porch. I'm sure he heard us pulling into the driveway.

"Hi!" I open with. "Are you a guest here?" I continue. "I was hoping to get a room here; I just wanted to know if the place is as great as I was told it is."

"Um... No, I live here," he states. There's that brooding forehead we all know and love.

"Really? You look a little young to be running a boarding house," I say while smirking.

"Oh, no... My...uncle runs the place," He stumbles over his words just ever so slightly.

I pretend to be taking in his appearance for the first time and question, "Are you okay? You're completely drenched."

He looks down at himself as if I had distracted him enough to make him forget.

"How about we get you inside, so you can change before you catch a cold, and you can get your uncle for me to see about a room," I say, ushering him inside with fake concern. I hope my acting is good enough to fool a vampire that has been around for over 150 years.

Still confused, I hope by my seemingly blind sincerity, he just nods slowly, and we walk into the boarding house. Zach, who happened to be up still, walks into the foyer to see who came in.

**(***A/N: The Zach I'm going for here... If you go to IMDb and search for Chris William Martin. That's Zach, but look at the black and white photo of him where he's sideways and looking at the camera. That's the version of him I'm going for. Also, it never gives his age in the show, so I just went with his age in 2009 (the start of the show), which is 34. I know, compared to her age of 19, that's kind of old for her, but the vampires are older, and they're dating teenagers, so... LOL!***)**

"Stefan? What happened?" Zach asks with concern. I think it was more of a concern of who I was then what he had been through. "Who is this?"

"Hi, I'm Rayna Abremins," I introduce myself. I hold out my hand for a handshake, but he hesitates. Eventually, he obliges and takes my offered hand. As he is attempting to discretely but quickly check my pulse, I continue, "I was hoping you had a vacancy?" I question more than state. When he let's go of my hand, I assume he has his preferred answer: I have a pulse.

"Um... Actually, we're not taking in any guest at the moment," Zach replies. I pause; I mean, I expected him to possibly try this since Stefan was in town, but being an everyday normal, human citizen, I shouldn't know that.

I pretend to falter as if I hadn't planned for this. However, let's be honest, I have nothing else planned... At all.

"Oh... Okay...," I hesitate. "Um... May I ask why?" I threw out, trying to trip him up, hopefully.

"Well... Uh... M-my nephew just got to town, and I was hoping to have to have some family bonding time with him," he fumbles out. "I haven't seen him since he was a kid."

"Oh, yeah. I totally get that," I let out in understanding. I nod my head and then turn to look out of the still open door. "I guess I'll just have to walk back into town... In the dark... By myself..."

Neither one of them budges, but they do have pitying looks in their expressions. I turn towards the door and slowly start walking towards it. I pretend to quietly say, as if to myself, "I really wish I hadn't forgotten my pepper spray..."

Still moving slowly towards the open door, I hear both of them softly sigh in defeat. I continue on, though, as if I hadn't heard.

"Wait," Zach speaks up with his hand reaching out to gently take my elbow to stop me. "You can at least stay the night," he caves.

_Yes!_ I scream within my head. "Thank you so much," I say with gratitude before hugging him. "Okay, I just need to know where the room is, and I am out of your hair!"

Once Zach shows me to a room on the second floor, he turns to me.

"Did you bring any luggage?" he asks.

I look at him sheepishly, "It...was...a spur of the moment kind of thing..."

He nods his head slowly and hesitates before asking, "Um... How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

I smile, "It's okay, I'm 19," I answer smoothly. "I can show you my ID, if you need to be sure," I continue. I need all the trust I can get from these people.

"If you don't care, I feel like I need to be sure," He continues.

"No problem." I fish my wallet out of my bag and dig out the ID for him to see.

Once he appears to be satisfied that I am in fact old enough to be on my own, he hands it back and bids me good night. A few minutes later, after plugging my phone up and beginning to get ready for bed, there is a knock on my door. I answer it to see Zach on the other side.

"Since you don't have any luggage with you, I thought I would lend you a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants," he shyly says as he hands them to me. "The pants may be too big, though. They don't have a drawstring."

I honestly didn't expect this level of hospitality from someone who is so mistrusting of everyone and everything. I can use this.

"Thank you so much, you didn't have to do that," I say, taking the clothes from him. I allow my hands to brush his.

As far as I know, I'm not the best at flirting, but dare I say, I believe I just made a grown man blush a little. Ego boost much? We say goodnight again, and I change into the sleepwear. He was right; the pants are too big. Oh well, I go with just the t-shirt. It's long enough, anyway. And, I can use it, too. I smirk as I get into the comfortable bed. I'm already exhausted.

_Ah, luxury. Acting is so exhausting._

THE NEXT MORNING...

I wake up early and listen for any kind of movement. I don't hear any, but this is a big house, and the rooms could be sound-proof. Plus, if Stefan was up, he could move around without being heard. I get up and use the bathroom before heading downstairs with my phone in search of coffee. Once I'm in the parlor area at the end of the stairs, I stop and listen again. I don't see anyone yet, so I walk in the direction that I think the kitchen is in. Once I locate it and the coffee machine, I search for the coffee. After finding it and the sugar right next to it, I make the coffee for the three of us. While that's brewing, I open the fridge to look for creamer or some milk or something. I ignore the chili thermos in the back of the fridge that has a somewhat noticeable drizzle of blood on the side from when Stefan was clearly filling it with animal blood. I find some creamer and then grab one of the coffee cups hanging on the mug rack near the machine. While it continues to brew, I grab my phone off of the counter and pull up the internet browser to search for Mystic Grill. I find the number and call them up.

"Mystic Grill, this is Angie. How may I help you?" a perky girl answers. Clearly, someone is a morning person.

"Hi, I was wondering if you did deliveries," I ask. "I'm at the Salvatore Boarding House."

"We do, but you'll have to make an order of $40," she answers.

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem, I'm here with two guys, and it's for the 3 of us," I comment.

I tell her what I want, and the total comes out to be $45 even. After we hang up, I pour my mug of coffee and fix it up just right, then I head upstairs to grab the money plus tip. Still no obvious movement in the house. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm the only one here. I mean it's seven in the morning. I know that it's summer and all, but I would think they would be up and about by now. I stay in the t-shirt, waiting on being able to worm my way into Zach's life. He won't be here forever, so I have to get everything I can before Damon comes home.

Once the food arrives and the deliverer is paid, I finally hear movement. A floorboard creaks on the second floor. I quickly rush to the kitchen to set everything down on the island counter. Thankfully, they still haven't come down yet, so I have the chance to calm my pulse from rushing around. I also have to place myself. The shirt is long enough to cover my ass, but not if I lean over the counter. I do so near the sink to pretend to be looking out the window while I continue to sip on my coffee. Someone walks in, but I pretend not to notice. Whichever it is, they should be getting a good peek at my underwear from just under the t-shirt. Hopefully, it's Zach because Stefan would be harder to work.

"What is all this?" I hear Zach question. I turn around with wide eyes as if I hadn't heard him come in.

"Oh, hi...," I start. "I just thought I would show my appreciation for letting me stay." I put on my most innocent of the brightest smiles. I'm hoping it screams I'm a good person.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," he smiles. "I mean I could've cooked."

"Don't worry about it," I insist. "I wanted to do it." I walk closer to him, and he quickly glances to and away from my bare legs. "Why don't I get dressed, and you set everything up," I offer.

He gulps lightly and nods. I walk away and into the parlor where Stefan is walking down the stairs dressed for the day.

"Hey, I ordered breakfast; it's in the kitchen," I inform him. He just kind of watches me in wonderment and confusion. He nods as I pass him at the bottom of the stairs and heads to the kitchen.

After dressing and fixing my hair a little, I head back down to see them already digging in. I grab the plate that was left out for me and fill it up. Throughout eating, Stefan and Zach keep looking at each other and then at me.

"Don't be shy gentlemen; ask your questions," I prompt.

Stefan gets my attention to look at him. I guess it's time to pretend to be compelled. I'm both surprised but not quite. I'm surprised he's attempting it because he knows that his abilities aren't the best since he's on animal blood. On the other hand, they probably want their answers quick.

He dilates his pupils and commands, "Who are you, and where do you come from?"

I stare at him blankly and answer, "I'm Rayna Abremins, and I come from Rhode Island."

Again, he commands, "Why are you here?"

I've had plenty of time to think of an answer for this, so I reveal, "I wanted to start fresh; to get away from my ex-boyfriend." From the corner of my eye, I can see the contemplative look on Zach's face.

When it seems Stefan is finished, for now, I blink rapidly. "I'm sorry, I must have zoned out," I say chuckling. "What were you saying?"

"I was just saying it was very generous of you to get us breakfast this morning," is Stefan's cover reply.

"Oh, it was no problem," I start. "It's the least I could do for the two of you for letting me stay the night." I continue eating a little before continuing, "Once I finish eating, I'm going to call an UberCab and go looking for vacancies at hotels and motels." I look down with a sad smile.

"Um... actually, I was thinking about that," Zach speaks up. "Maybe you could stay."

My eyes light up. Stefan shoots a look at Zach. A look that screams, '_What are you doing!?_'

"Seriously?" I question. He nods with a small smile. "Thank you so much!" I exclaim with a grin. "How much will it be a night?"

"Well, we can talk about that later on in the evening," he replies. "Why don't you head into town and buy you some clothes and things you need."

"That is a perfect idea," I agree with a big smile.

I stand up and grab my plate and put it in the sink. I call the UberCab to get a ride into town. While I'm doing this, I walk up to my room to grab my purse. I finish the call before I get back downstairs. I walk towards the kitchen again to let them know that I was going to wait on the front porch. Before I get there, I can hear them talking in hushed tones.

"What are you doing? You know it's a risk having her here," Stefan scolds.

"You heard her about her ex. She probably wants the seclusion to keep hidden from him in case he comes looking for her," Zach reasons. _I love it when people build the lie for me – makes it so much easier to continue it._

"And what if Damon shows up?" Stefan questions. "You know he follows me everywhere and will eventually find me."

"This doesn't mean she'll be here forever, just-" Zach begins arguing, but he's cut off by Stefan.

"You like her, don't you?" he asks softly, yet inquisitive.

"What?" Zach questions. "Don't be ridiculous; we just met her last night," he argues.

There was a pause between the two of them. "Okay, fine," Stefan caves. "But if there's even a small inclination that Damon is even _close_ to Mystic Falls, she has to go," he compromises. "She's in less danger if it looks like she doesn't even know us."

I take that moment to quickly walk in as if I was speed walking already. This way, it won't give them the chance to wonder if I was standing outside the door. I'm surprised Stefan hadn't noticed my heart beat there. Must be the animal blood.

"Hey, I'm going to wait out on the front porch for the ride," I announce. "Do either of you need anything while I'm out?" They both smile and shake their heads 'no.' I smile back and wave before walking to and out the front door.

I don't have to wait for long until the driver arrives. This time it's a different guy. The moment he opens his mouth, I know he's gay. _Perfect. A shopping partner who will be honest with me._

"How would you like to get a big fat tip?" I ask with a smirk.

He hesitates at first. "We're talking about money, right?" he questions, making me chuckle.

"Well, I mean, feel free to take the other if it's offered," I joke, "but yes, I am talking about a money tip."

"What do I have to do?" he inquires.

"Be my fashion consultant," I entice.

"Deal!" he immediately agrees.

**(***A/N: Ahead, I will be describing more on the clothes and makeup and whatnot. Just a small bit, but it's a part of what's going on in my head for her manipulations with Zach. You can ignore the descriptors and make it your own still. The bigger details, of course, will be on my URSTYLE page.***)**

We drive off and, after about a 30-minute drive of us getting to know each other, we arrive in town. He drives us to the square and stops off at a cute little boutique. We both get out and walk in to see a few women shopping and a girl and guy at the counter. The guy is training the younger girl.

"Damn," my new bae, Joshua, swears. "I didn't think he would be working today."

"Ex?" I question. He nods in the affirmative. "Well, maybe he's just here because he had to train her," I offer. "But don't worry about it," I continue. "You're mine today, and he can fuck off." He nods in agreement, and we continue to look around.

After about ten minutes of looking around and picking some things up to try on, Joshua's ex walks towards us.

"Aren't you supposed to be working, today, Joshua?" the guy starts in.

"Aren't you supposed to be _not_ working today, Aaron?" Joshua counters, albeit childishly.

I step in because I really don't want to listen to this, but I, at least, make it look like I'm defending Joshua. "He is working, today, _Aaron_," I butt in while flicking his name tag. "I'm using his UberCab services as a chauffeur."

"I didn't know chauffeurs gave expert fashion advice, too," Aaron attempts to jab.

Joshua leans towards me and stage whispers, "Was that supposed to be an insult?"

I copy his movements and reply, "I'm pretty sure that was a compliment." I continue in my bitchy tone, "I'm sorry, but he doesn't want to be with you anymore." I shoo him away.

When I finish modeling, and we've selected a bunch of outfits, we head towards the checkout. Joshua gets a phone call from his boss and excuses himself to the car. I take my place in line behind another woman. Once they finish up with the woman in front of me, I step up and lay my items on the counter. Aaron appears to be sizing me up. I look at him in the eyes with a raised eyebrow as the girl, whose name-tag reads Tamera, starts ringing up my items.

"Well, don't hold back, Aaron," I prompt.

He doesn't talk right away, but then he asks, "How long have you known Joshua?"

I look at the clock on the wall as I hand Tamera my card to pay and answer, "For about an hour."

"He scoffs in disbelief, "And you think you have the right to butt into our life?"

Tamera hands the card back, and I put it in my purse while grabbing my three bags and reply, "What life?"

With that, I walk out of the store and to the car. Joshua is just finishing his call and opens the trunk to let me put my bags in. I get in the front passenger seat, and we drive down the road a bit and park again. This store is a men's and women's lingerie store.

We sit for just a second before he asks, "Did he say anything?"

I pretend to hesitate, "Yes, he seems to still think there is some kind of life together there."

He scoffs and chuckles bitterly while lightly shaking his head.

"Can I ask who broke up with who and why?" I inquire.

He doesn't speak at first. Eventually, he finds his words. "The usual - I broke up with him because he cheated," he begins. "I was told by a mutual friend of ours, but I didn't believe her at first, so I went to him to clear it up," he continues. "He didn't deny it. So, I left."

"Well, I say good ridden," I comfort. "You deserve someone better – like a devoted Latin lover," I finish before getting out of the car.

I hear him lightly laughing as he gets out, as well. We spend another two hours shopping around the square and a couple of other stores elsewhere within Mystic Falls. We head to the Mystic Grill for lunch before he takes me back to the boarding house. We bring in my plethora of bags from the car to bring them to my room. We see Zach and Stefan sitting in the main room.

"Hey, I'm back," I announce as Joshua and I start heading towards the stairs. Zach immediately stands up. _What a gentleman._

"Hey, do you need any help?" he offers. He almost looks like he's hesitating when he sees Joshua.

_Jealousy perhaps? No, it can't be this quickly. Either I'm that good, or he's that lonely. Either way..._ I secretly smirk to myself.

"If you don't care to, I do have some more bags in the trunk and the back seat," I say appreciatively. "Thank you so much!" Joshua and I go upstairs to unload the bags on my bed.

While we are pulling out the clothing, Zach and Stefan walk in with the rest of the bags. They reunite them with the others on the bed.

"That's all of them," Stefan announces as he stuffs his hands into his pockets.

"Thank you both, I mean it," I say. "This is Joshua Tanner, my new BFF," I introduce. "And these two fine gentlemen are Zach Salvatore, the owner of this place, and his nephew, Stefan

They all say hello to each other, but, unfortunately, Joshua had to get back to work. He had just received a text for another ride. We say our goodbyes and promise to have coffee tomorrow morning before his shift actually starts. Stefan leaves, as well, saying he's going for a walk.

"Did you need some help?" Zach offers, looking as if he was actually eager to help a woman put her clothes away.

"You are awesome," I answer. "Hangers are here in this bag."

He starts putting tops on the hangers and laying them on the bed to be hung altogether. He reaches for a bag that I know to be my lingerie bag. There's a ghost of a smirk on my lips as I fold up my pajamas to be put in the vanity dresser. He opens it up to reach in and grab an article of clothing; however, what he pulls out wasn't what he thought he would be pulling out.

"Oh, my god. I am so sorry." He drops the lacy panties back into the bag and steps away from it slightly.

I giggle lightly and move the bag over to my area at the end of the bed. "It's okay; they don't bite," I say.

He goes to say something else, but his phone rings. He pulls it out and looks at the caller ID. "Uh, I have to take this," he states before looking back at me.

"Hey, it's fine; I've got this," I assure him. "Thank you for the help, though." I smile as bedazzling as I can.

He smiles back and quickly walks out of the room, answering the phone as he does so. I suspect that Stefan called him to help bail him out. It seems too much like a coincidence for him to receive a call right when he gets embarrassed.

I put away the rest of the clothes in the closet and the dresser. I change into a more relaxed outfit and head downstairs. I don't see Zach in the main room, but I do see Stefan turning the corner to the foyer. I make my way to the kitchen to see Zach leaning against the island with a glass of what I assume is bourbon in his hand.

"Oh, come on; it couldn't have been that bad," I jest, startling him a bit.

He smiles embarrassedly and changes the subject. "Um, I'm making dinner tonight; did you have anything in mind?"

Holding in my laughter, I answer, "Whatever you have is fine. Something simple."


	2. Chapter 2

**Rayna's Game****  
**_A Vampire Diaries fanfic__  
_The Anonymous J.

**A/N:** If you haven't read chapter 1, then I don't know why you're here. LOL! My URSTYLE account is The Anonymous J., if you want visuals. I'm also writing a book (_For Whom the Craft Tolls_). Check it out if you like fictions about magic and witches. Lastly, draw my attention to any errors I make (spelling, grammar, and/or show information). Please and thank you! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything Vampire Diaries. I only own the OFC and other OCs and any plot changes throughout this fanfic.

**Summary:** Rayna explores the world of Vampire Diaries, integrating herself within its story. Her main goal is to mold it to her survival. She feels like this isn't the first time she has been through something like this, but she can't conjure up the details of the previous times. Follow her along on her unnamed quest. Rated M for language, violence, and mature scenes.

******Rayna's Game****  
**Chapter 2  
_Summer of Love Games (Part 2)_

FAST FORWARD 1 WEEK...

"It's been one week since you looked at me – cocked your head to the side and said "I'm angry"," I sing out in an inside voice. Good old Barenaked Ladies; this is my oldies.

I continue singing with my headphone on. I have my door wide open while I'm folding and hanging laundry while dancing a little to the music. I turn around to go towards the bathroom to put up my towels when I see an amused Stefan leaning on my door frame to the hall.

"FUCK!" I scream out. I grab my chest as if that's supposed to settle my heart from beating out of control. Stefan just chuckles. "Oh, my god! You scared the hell out of me."

"I'm sorry; it wasn't my intention to scare you," he says as he still snickers.

Zach makes an appearance at my door, as well. "What's going on?" he asks in concern.

"Hardcore peek-a-boo," I supply on my way to the bathroom. Thankfully, I didn't drop any of the towels.

He looks to Stefan for an explanation, to which he elaborates, "I was headed to my room when I could hear her singing, so I stopped by."

"But he stayed for the sick dance moves," I add on.

"They were sick alright," he counters. I look at him in mock shock and hurt, gasping. He walks away chuckling, leaving Zach and I alone. I look at him to see him smiling lightly at me. "What are you smiling at," I ask playfully while slowly walking towards him.

I stop at the door frame and lean against it in front of him. It seems like he just notices my pajamas. He glances down quickly and back up to my eyes as his smile drops slightly. He clears his throat, stands up straighter, and stuffs his hands into his pockets.

**(***A/N: I didn't make a URSTYLE for this; it's all your imagination.***)**

"Are you planning on doing anything, today?" he nervously asks.

_Finally! I've been working this fool for a fucking week._ I smile lightly. "I haven't made any," I reply. "What did you have in mind?"

He blushes and gulps lightly. "Um, I was just going to cook again, tonight," he says with a small smile.

"One condition," I start. His smile drops, and his eyes widen a little. I'm not sure what he thought I was going to say, but I continue, "I help cook."

A grin slowly starts to make its way onto his face. "I recall having to order from the Grill last time you tried to cook," he jests.

I scoff with a playful mock shock look as I lightly hit him in the chest with the back of my hand. "I can at least make a salad or something," I offer still grinning. "We could make a class out of it, tonight."

"Teach you to cook?" he questions. I nod in the affirmative. "I think I can manage that."

We discuss what time to start and go our separate ways. He leaves to run some errands and then get the groceries. I go back to finish my laundry. When I'm almost finished, I receive a phone call from Joshua.

"Hey, Bae," I answer while putting away the last of my laundry.

"Ray, I seriously need to talk to you," he begins in a bit of a rush.

I look at the phone in confusion. "Okay... What about?" I question. _He better not be breaking up with me... or baeking up with me..._ I snicker at my own stupid joke.

"Can we do lunch?" he asks, sounding desperate as hell.

"Sure," I answer. "Just give me about a half an hour to get ready, and we can go to the coffee shop."

"Sounds good to me," he says. "I need to tell you something big, so I'm taking a long lunch."

"Okay, but I have to be back by three o'clock," I insist.

"What's happening at three?" he questions.

"I have to get ready for dinner," I answer. "Zach's going to give me a lesson in cooking tonight; we start at four."

"Oh, a cooking date?" he asks.

"I wish," I scoff. "I know I just met him like a week ago, but it is so hard to just get him to ask me on a date." I look through my closet for an outfit to wear out with Joshua. "I honestly wish he would kiss me already," I confess, hoping Stefan is here and listening. "I mean, I could always make the move myself, but where's the excitement in that?"

"You may have, too," he says.

"Maybe," I reply. "Anyway, I'm going to hop in the shower for a quick one and get dressed," I continue. "I'll meet you outside."

We hang up, and I do as I said I was going to. I just take a quick 10 minutes in the shower and get ready. Once I am, I head downstairs with my phone and my bag. Once I get to the end of the stairs, I see Stefan sitting at the desk in the main area, reading a book.

"Hey," I get his attention, and he looks up at me. "I'm going out to lunch with Joshua," I begin. "Can you let Zach know to not worry because I'll be home by three o'clock," I continue. "Plenty of time before dinner." Using the word 'home' is a solidifier that I live here now – for them, not me.

He agrees to tell him, and I make my way out to the front porch. I am just in time because Joshua has just pulled into the driveway.

After arriving at the coffee shop and ordering, he impatiently awaits to spill the beans on whatever he dragged me out here for. It's like he's waiting for me to give him permission._ That's good conditioning, right there._

"Oh, my god! Just spill it, already!" I exclaim in slight irritation.

Without wasting any more time, he says, "I found him."

I stare at him in confusion for a few seconds. Finally, I ask, "Found who?"

"His name is Carlos," he says as a way of elaboration.

Again, I stare at him in confusion. Suddenly, I realize what he's talking about. "You mean your devoted Latin lover?" I ask excitedly.

"Well, he has to prove that he's devoted, and that he's a good lover, but Latin he is," he states with a smile.

I squeal a little in excitement. "And you're sure he's gay?" I question.

"Bitch, please," he sasses. "I know gay better than you do."

I put my hands up in surrender while laughing. We continue to talk about Carlos and that they're going on a date Friday night. Which is tomorrow. 2:40 rolls around and we leave the coffee shop.

I arrive just a few minutes past three o'clock. I walk in quickly after we say our goodbyes, and see Stefan still in the sitting area. This time he's on one of the couches, still reading, in different clothes. I slow to a stop as he looks up.

"Have you been here the whole time?" I ask. "I mean, other than changing clothes, of course."

"Pretty much," he answers with a small smile.

"You need friends, Stef – especially if you're going to be the new kid this coming school year," I advise. "It would be such a much better transition."

I go on upstairs to take a slightly longer shower and wash my hair. Once done with all that, I get out and dry off. I then dry my hair and curl it a bit like normal. Then I get dressed into the outfit I had picked out before leaving with Joshua this morning. I spritz on a little smell-good, grab my phone, and head downstairs with just a few minutes to spare. I see Stefan walking towards the foyer.

_I hope he's leaving – I really do._ "Are you leaving?" I question. "You're going to miss out on my failure," I joke. _Say you're leaving. Say you're leaving._

"Actually, I thought I would save you the extra embarrassment of failing in front of two good cooks," he jests. "No, I'm taking your advice," he admits. "I'm going to put myself out there and make some friends."

I look at him incredulously. This is not like him to actively put himself around a lot of people. A lot of humans. I mean, the advice was more or less a joke for me.

"Did Zach ask you to leave?" I test.

"Begged," he corrects.

I grin and marvel at myself and how my plan is working better than I thought it would. _Yay, me._ "Then why are you still here?" I say playfully.

He gins back and waves goodbye as he heads for the door. I head for the kitchen and see that Zach has everything set up. He's cutting cheese into small bites with two stemmed wine glasses halfway filled with red next to him. He hears someone entering the kitchen, so he looks up to see who it is.

"Hi," he says simply.

"Hey, ready to get started?" I ask. He nods with a small smile.

**(***A/N: Forewarning... I do not know how to cook. I'm going to be making up some shit on "cooking techniques" that probably won't really make since. LOL! I'm sorry to the culinary experts out there that probably aren't reading this story. I won't be talking about a lot, just a one or two or so for scenes.***)**

"I cut up the cheese to have for snacking while we cook," he says, gesturing to the platter. "That way we don't eat the ingredients."

He hands me one of the wine glasses, and we head to where all the various sizes of bowls filled with ingredients are sitting. After about ten minutes of me watching him work, he seems to realize that all I'm doing is drink all the wine. Second glass.

"You know, you can dive in at any time," he suggests with an amused smile.

"Hey, I'm learning," I insist. "...by watching." I take a sip of my wine with a secretive smile slowly spreading on my face. I look up at him to still see that amused smile.

"Okay," he starts. "How about you stir the gravy," he says. "Just whisk it slowly because you don't want it to be too soupy and thin."

He starts cutting up some vegetables next to me, so I start whisking away like he told me not to do. This results in him grabbing my whisking hand and putting the other arm around me on the opposite upper arm. _This is more like it._

"No, no," he panics. "That's too fast."

He starts moving my hand for me to physically show me at what speed the gravy should be stirred. I look at him from just over my right shoulder. _Come on; this is the perfect opportunity, Zach. Just do it!_

No such luck... He glances at me, noticing how close we are. However, he only stares for a second before clearing his throat and moving away back to the cutting board. _Grrrr..._

I sigh just loud enough for him to hear me, but not so loud that he realizes he was meant to hear it. We continue cooking with him having me do a few other things. I act like I'm over the ruined moment.

Once the food is all finished cooking, we sit down to eat. We talk a lot about ourselves. Well, he tells me a lot. I lie my ass off on the fly like the little pathological liar that I can be.

"So, how are you liking Mystic Falls, so far?" he asks in a way of starting a normal conversation.

"So far, it's interesting," I start. "There's more going on here than there usually is in a small town."

"That's what happens when you have an old city that is proud of their heritage," he declares.

I nod in understanding. "Do you have any other family in town besides Stefan?" I question. _Let's see if he mentions Damon._

"Not in town, no," he says, shaking his head. "None that we talk to either."

_Did they coordinate this talk?_

Once we finish eating dinner, we put everything away in either the fridge or the dishwasher. He starts making us some real hot chocolate on the stove and asks me to get us some cheesecake from the fridge. I cut us a couple of slices and put them on small saucer plates and grab some forks from a drawer. It only takes a few minutes for the hot chocolate to be done, and we take our dessert into the main room. He quickly starts a fire, and I make sure we sit close. While the hot chocolates cool we eat the cheesecake and continue talking.

"So, how about you?" he begins. "What family did you leave back at home?"

"As far as I'm concerned, I didn't leave anyone behind," I answer, pretending to be bitter.

He puts an arm around the top of the back of the couch with a concerned look. "Can I ask why that is?" he questions.

"It all ties in with my ex-boyfriend, Daniel Stephenson," I start. "He's one of those guys that just knows what to say to make everything fall into place, you know."

He nods in understanding. "Yeah, I know someone like that," he inputs.

"It took me a while to realize who he was, but my parents were already tightly wrapped around his little finger," I elaborate on the lie. "They nearly disowned me when I broke up with him."

"They took his side?" Zach questions in exasperation. I nod in confirmation.

I finish my cheesecake as he does, and he places the plates on the coffee table while grabbing the drinks. I turn myself so we're even closer to each other. We start talking softer because of our closer proximity.

"You know, we never did talk about how I'm paying for staying here," I comment. "I assume you had an alternative to money payment."

"I was just going to have you clean around the boarding house," he explains. "Wash the dishes that can't go in the dishwasher, dust all around, and maybe do the laundry," he continues. "But then I thought about what I was supposed to do, if I gave you all my chores," he concludes. "I just enjoy having someone else around."

"I'm sure Stefan will be pleased to hear this," I joke, grinning.

He chuckles, explaining, "I mean that isn't family." _No, you mean, that is human and doesn't think you're weird._

The conversation starts to die down after we've finished off the hot chocolate. I'm staring at the fire, very aware of him staring at me. I turn to look at him, and he **finally** makes the move. He rushes forward, putting his hand on my cheek, and kissing me sweetly. A little heavier than I thought he would, but I am so game. I put my hands on his lower chest and slide them up and over his shoulders. They travel around his neck. One hand scratches at his back while the other scratches at his scalp, and the kiss becomes deeper. The hand on my cheek moves over and around my shoulder and down my side to my waist, then my thigh. The other slides around into my hair. He pulls me closer.

Suddenly, we hear the front door open in the foyer. Zach jumps away from me as if **we** were the teenagers and not the one who just came through the door. I mean, I know he's 161, or whatever, but they don't know that I know that. _Well, at least I got somewhere._

THE NEXT DAY...

It's the next morning, and it's also the day Joshua and Carlos are going out. I woke up to my phone ringing, and Joshua has been non-stop, freaking out about his date tonight with Carlos. Driving me nuts is what he's doing.

"What am I supposed to wear?" he asks in a panic. I hear the hangers scrapping across the metal pole in his closet from the phone.

"Where is he taking you?" I request.

I'm flipping through a magazine, now, that I've never even heard of – bored out of my mind. I found out that I was the only one at the boarding house, at the moment, so I have no one to flirt with and do naughty things with.

"That new little restaurant I showed you during our shopping trip," he answers, gushing over the fact that it's a nice place for their first date.

"Well, so far, he's doing a good job," I comment. "Do you have any suits?"

"I mean, I still have my prom suit," he admits.

I give an incredulous look to no one. "For what?" I question. "To relive your high school days?"

"No!" he exclaims in a fit like a child. "I kept it to wear at a funeral."

I pause for a second. "Okay, that's acceptable," I relent. "Come get me, and we'll go shopping."

He does so, and we go to a dress and tuxedo shop where he begins trying on countless different tuxedos. Eventually, we decide – I decide – that he looks best in a slim fit, dark gray tux with a white button up. No tie is needed; just unbutton a couple buttons.

"Okay, good. Now that that is out of the way, let's go to the grill because I'm starving," I more or less demand.

"I don't want to eat a whole lot before dinner," he protests.

"That's fine; I'll get what I want, and we can share a basket of cheese fries," I compromise. He nods in agreement. "And maybe you can get a drink to calm your nerves," I add. While we wait on the food, we talk some more.

"So, when do I get to meet the dashing Carlos?" I ask.

"Well, if all goes well tonight, I was planning on taking him to the Lockwood Summer Foundation Party tomorrow night," he answers nonchalantly.

I pause what I'm doing on my phone, and slowly look up at Joshua. "There's a party that you didn't tell me about until after we left the dress store?" I question with a look of annoyance. He shrugs sheepishly. "What time does it start?" I ask.

"About two in the afternoon," he answers as the food is sat down in front of us.

"Well, guess how we will be spending our morning," I tell him while digging into my food.

Once we're finished, he drops me off at the boarding house and goes home to get ready. I walk into the main room to see Zach there, reading the newspaper.

"Did you think you could get away with not telling me?" I open with, startling him a little bit. I try to hold back my snicker.

He stands up and looks at my supposedly perturbed look. His eyes widen. I'm sure there are hundreds of ideas running through his head about what I'm talking about, and I'm sure he doesn't want it to be any of them.

_This is fun._ "I can't believe you would keep this to yourself," I complain. "You know I like parties; I mean it's obvious," I reveal.

There's a beat, and then his eyebrows furrow. "Wait, what?" he asks now confused.

I let the smile finally slip into view. "The Summer Foundation Party at the Lockwood estate," I answer.

He very visibly relaxes. "Right, I forgot all about that," he admits. "The Salvatores haven't really been to a Founders party in a long time."

"Well, I think it's time to change that," I demand more than suggest. I walk up to him and put my arms around his neck. "Right?" I question, but I wasn't asking a question really. I was making a very suggestive suggestion for him to agree with me. I think he gets that. He slides his arms around my waste.

He doesn't say anything for a minute, just staring at me like he doesn't want to agree, but he does want to agree at the same time.

"Okay," he sighs out. "If you really want to go, we will," he caves. "But only for a couple hours," he compromises.

"Maybe...," I compromise back. "Thank you," I say while kissing his jaw.

He sighs contently, and I move down lower to his neck, placing a kiss there, too. I rack my fingers through his hair. I look up at him, and he immediately kisses me, pulling me closer to him. The kiss gets deeper and heavier. Then Stefan, whom I believe is doing this on purpose, interrupts us for the second time in two days. I sigh in aggravation and look over at Stefan. He raises his hands in defense, but there's this little secretive mischievous smile just itching to surface. I see it twitching there at the corner of his mouth. I remove myself from Zach, seeing a similarly annoyed look on his face. I walk off towards the stairs where Stefan is standing at the bottom. As I walk past him, I hold up my middle finger close to his face.

Once I've made my way up to my room, I can hear muffled yelling. _Well, at least Zach is as sexually frustrated as I am._

LATER THAT NIGHT...

I haven't heard from Joshua, yet. Either the date is _still_ on going, meaning they spent the night together, or Joshua – or both – are dead. I mean, it's not a huge deal, but if Joshua is dead, I have to find another BFF to occupy the time before Damon arrives. By midnight, I send him a text.

**Me: Joshua... You better be not texting me because you fell asleep after sex, or you're lying in a ditch unconscious or dead.**

I didn't get a reply before going to bed about thirty minutes later. _Well, fuck._


	3. Chapter 3

**Rayna's Game****  
**_A Vampire Diaries fanfic  
_The Anonymous J.

**A/N: ****_IMPORTANT STUFFS!_** Sorry I didn't get this in over the weekend. It's just a day late. LOL! ALSO... I didn't realize I hadn't been posting my URSTYLE outfits for Rayna on URSTYLE. My apologies; they're up there now. All the way up to this chapter. Book (For Whom the Craft Tolls), fiction about witches and magic. Check it out :). URSTYLE (The Anonymous J.) for visuals. I just realized that I wasn't posting the outfits. LOL! They are now posted up to this chapter. Labeled Rayna. Errors: (grammar, spelling, show info) Comment and let me know to correct it. Read Chapters 1 and 2 first.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything Vampire Diaries. I only own the OFC and other OCs and any plot changes throughout this fanfic.

**Summary: **Rayna explores the world of Vampire Diaries, integrating herself within its story. Her main goal is to mold it to her survival. She feels like this isn't the first time she has been through something like this, but she can't conjure up the details of the previous times. Follow her along on her unnamed quest. Rated M for language, violence, and mature scene.

**Rayna's Game**  
Chapter 3  
_Summer of Love Games (Part 3)_

NEXT DAY – SATURDAY MORNING...

I wake up at seven in the morning to a phone call. It's Joshua. _Finally._

"Where have you been?" I ask groggily as I get up for the day.

At first, there is no sound. I can hear faint breathing, though, so I know that someone is there.

"Hello?" I ask impatiently.

"Do you want to see your friend again?" a Hispanic man asks on the other end.

I pause for a second. "Carlos?" I guess.

"Hm, so you've heard of me," he states.

"Please, he wouldn't shut about you," I say. I walk to the bathroom to get ready for a shower and the rest of the hygiene motions.

"Well, how foolish of him to speak so highly of someone who is going to kill him," he says.

I pause. "Excuse me?" I question.

"He dies unless you come to me with money," he explains. "He told me you bought his expansive suit, so you clearly have money," Carlos elaborates in his smooth Hispanic voice. "I expect you to be at 458 Allen Avenue with fifty thousand dollars. You have two hours."

I hang up the phone and look at my reflection. _I never understood why movie and TV show "villains" give the "heroes" ample time to gather stuff to fuck up said villains in a single man ambush._ I smirk. _Time for some fun._ Since it'll be a while before death and mayhem become a normal thing for this town, a little taste won't hurt. I brush my teeth and fix my hair. I pick out an outfit to wear to the location: all black. I grab a duffel bag and throw in a different outfit to go shopping in, as well as, my purse, and beauty bag. I walk downstairs and to the kitchen.

I don't see anyone, so I holler out, "Hello?" but I don't get an answer. I do see Zach's keys on the counter, though. _Maybe he's taking a shower. Shame I have to waste this opportunity._ I write out a quick note to him about borrowing his car to go shopping for the dress because Joshua wasn't up for it. 'Boy trouble' I add. I sign it with 'XXX' before my name and a winking smiley.

I grab the keys and a big kitchen knife, as well as some sanitary wipes from under the sink, before taking them and the duffel bag to the garage where the SUV is parked. I head to the road I was directed to only to find out that it's a ghost road on the outskirts of town. Just a bunch of abandoned and condemned houses. Boarded up windows. I park out of view, grab the knife from the duffel, put my phone away, and walk the rest of the way to the back of the house, following the sound of a generator.

Once back there, I see a guy smoking a cigarette and a cellar door leading to the basement. It's slightly propped open, letting me know that it's actually unlocked. _Perfect._

The smoking man snubs out his cig with his boot and turns to go back in. I make my move, rushing forward as quietly as I can. The roar of the generator, covers most of the noise. I reach around and slice the big kitchen knife across his throat. He falls to the ground, quietly with my help, and dies quickly from the rapid blood loss. I take his pack of cigarettes and lighter and walk over to the generator. After unscrewing the cap to the fuel tank, I pull a cigarette out of the pack and pinch off some of it to make it smaller so it has less to burn. I light it and set it across the entrance to the tank. I don't know explosions very well, or at all, but I'm hoping this will explode, but not catch the house on fire. Especially with me in it.

I walk over to the cellar doors and lift up the side that I could see ajar. I walk in and down the stairs, shutting the door as quietly as possible and latching it closed. Once I reach the bottom of the stairs to the dirt floor, the explosion happens. There's a loud, heavy bang, sounding from it, startling me in the process. I stumble away from the sound a bit. _I don't think the house is on fire..._ It did, however, turn off the power to the building. Exactly what I wanted.

I hear people running in the direction of the boom and make my way in the dark to where I believe I saw the stairs to go back up inside the house. I locate them just as I hear someone opening the cellar doors. I quickly make my up the stairs, once again, as quietly as possible, and slip out the door, closing it softly behind me. I whip around a corner just as someone else is making their way to that door to block the only other exit. He goes in and I slip behind him.

My heart is beating so much. It's exhilarating. I grab the back of his jacket and hold the knife to the back of his head.

"Shh, shh, shh," I whisper, pushing the tip of the blade into the base of his skull just a little.

We walk farther into the basement. I can just see the other guy thanks to the light flooding in from the cellar doors. I quickly shove the knife into the back of his neck and up, hopefully, into his brain. It was tough to do, but I managed to get it in. I kick his lower back, knocking him into the other guy. They stumble to the ground – one literally dead weight. I move fast and stab the living one in the underside of the other's chin moving the knife upwards.

Once back upstairs, I can hear 2 more people in a room ahead of me. I quietly move towards it.

"What is taking everyone so long?" a voice says aloud. The voice of Carlos to be exact. "Go see what's taking them so long, but be careful," he commands.

This guy starts moving towards me. I feel a doorway to my left and slip inside quickly. When I see him walk by thanks to his flashlight, I walk silently behind him and slit his throat just like I did smoking man. I help him fall quietly to the ground as well. Let me tell you, this is not an easy task. These guys are big. I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow. Finally, my last guy - Carlos.

I slowly walk into the room he is in. He's looking out of the cracks between the boards that cover one of the windows in the front room. I glimpse Joshua sitting in a chair unconscious with his hands tied behind his back. I walk past him on my way to Carlos and stand behind him. I think he eventually realizes that something is directly behind him as he begins to slowly turn around with the flashlight pointing where he looks. I don't allow him to fully turn towards me by stabbing him in the back where I think his spine is. Not quite. He's still able to move. I stab him again in his left trapezoid as his turn quickens, making him drop his flashlight. With the light of the flashlight on the ground and pointing more in his direction, I can see the gun in his right hand. I jab the knife towards his right wrist, causing him to drop that, too. I then proceed to repeatedly stab him while he slides down the wall to the ground.

"You should've never fucked with me, Carlos," I tell him quietly. I kick the gun away from him and across the room, leaving him to bleed out while I walk over to free Joshua.

"If I. Would've known. You were. An assassin," he starts while pausing and breathing ever couple of words. "I would've. Asked you. To join us."

"Well, I would've only done freelance work," I begin while cutting Joshua loose. "Plus, I wouldn't have the time," I conclude while slapping Joshua's cheek to get him to wake up. He starts coming to, while I walk back over to Carlos and confess, "Manipulation takes too much effort for much else, and this is my first rescue mission that involves me killing someone." I slowly slide the blade deeply across his throat, ending his life.

Joshua finally comes to and starts freaking out. "Hey!" I slap his cheek, but I hold back with it; he's delicate. "Calm down, okay? It's just me now," I reassure him.

"Rayna?" he questions. I grab the flashlight from the ground and show him it's me. "Oh, my god! I thought I was going to die!" he exclaims in relief. "Wait," he whispers. "Where are the bad guys?" he questions quietly.

"I Liam Neeson'd them," I answer. "Can you walk okay?" I ask, to which he replies that he can. "Okay, I need you to walk down to the corner and grab the SUV I came in," I instruct him while handing him the keys. "Then drive it down here, and then stay in the car." He nods and goes through the back where I tell him.

Using the flashlight, I begin cleaning house. I hear Joshua pull up in front of the house. I walk to the back and around the house to the back of the SUV. I grab the duffel bag and remove the clothes and my purse and beauty bag.

"I'll be right back," I say, heading to the back of the house again.

I all the weapons to the duffel. Thankfully, I thought to wear gloves, so finger prints aren't an issue. I wipe off the kitchen knife, removing the blood; unfortunately, there is no running water in abandoned houses. I put it in the bag with the rest of the weapons. Last, I make sure to clean up what I can find of Joshua's DNA and what I think may have invisible DNA. Once I think I've gotten everything, I head back to the SUV and put the duffel bag back in there. I then remove my clothes and throw them on the ground for now. I remove my makeup and drop the removal sheets on the pile of clothes – killing people is a sweaty job. Then I change into the other clothes and reapply my makeup. Before we leave, I take the clothes and the makeup cloths to the back of the house. I see something that looks kind of like a burn barrel, so I throw the clothes and cloths into the barrel and add in the sanitary wipes that I had left in the back yard. I find the fuel canister that was used to fill the generator and pour enough into the barrel and use smoking man's lighter to light it by dropping it in, too. Finally, I get to the driver's seat of the SUV, making Joshua get over.

"I don't suppose you want to go shopping for the party today, do you?" I ask as we drive back towards the living part of Mystic Falls.

"Not looking like this," he declines while looking at his reflection in the visor mirror.

"So, does that mean you're bailing on the party, too?" I ask.

"Are you kidding?" he questions incredulously. "We need to go to the police!"

I slam on the breaks before we get to the better part of Mystic Falls. "First, this never happened," I begin. He starts to interrupt me, but I cut him off, "I just slaughtered five guys who kidnapped you for ransom and didn't call the cops once about this." He looks at me like I'm crazy. "This never happened, Joshua. Do you understand?"

He takes a moment before answering, but eventually agrees. We continue driving until I come across a familiar sight: a man laying perfectly still and flat on his back. _Really? Well, it is perfect timing..._

"What the hell is that?" Joshua asks.

"My silver lining," I admit. I stop the car, telling Joshua to stay in his seat. I, however, get out and walk over to the man. "So, you're not taking my advice?" I ask him as I walk up to him.

I see him sigh heavily once he realizes who it is. "You're still here?" he asks as he gets up.

I smirk at him. "Oh, don't pretend you're not happy to see me again," I jest concedingly. "I need a little favor from you," I confess sweetly. "You know, the kind where I don't pay you back." He gives me a look. "Until you get home by the first of the school year," I add on like it was obvious.

"Depends on what it is," he relents, pretending to not realize I knew something he was planning to do.

I clap once in excitement and lead him to Joshua's window. I indicate for Joshua to roll down his window. He does so, and smiles at Damon, despite the bruises on his face and the torment he went through with a guy he thought liked him back. I give him an amused smile.

"This is Joshua," I begin to Damon. I turn my hands to Damon to present him to Joshua, "This is Damon." Damon gives him a short nod and smile before looking back at me. "I was hoping you could heal and compel him for me."

Joshua smiles at Damon before he realized what I said. "Wait, what?" he says, looking at me in confusion.

"Considering I don't smell his blood on you but someone else's, who beat him up?" Damon asked.

"Ugh... I don't even want to talk about it," Joshua sighs.

I roll my eyes and reply, "He had a date with a guy named Carlos who turned out to be a kidnapping asshole."

"I smell different types of blood all over you," he states, getting closer and hovering over me while sniffing up my neck. "And it doesn't look like you have a mark on you."

"You should see the guys at 458 Allen Avenue," I reveal, lightly pushing him away. "And, if you don't care that they've been dead for about twenty minutes, you can catch an easy meal."

"I don't drink from dead things," Damon says with attitude. I raise my hands in defense. He pauses for a minute, squinting his eyes at me. Eventually, he sighs and finally asks, "What do you want me to tell him?"

"First, you'll have to compel him to drink your blood, so he'll heal," I begin.

He does just that, compelling Joshua to drink his blood. Once the blood is in his mouth, he holds it too long and starts shaking his head like he wants to spit it out. I mean, technically, Damon did word it for him to take the blood, not swallow it.

"Swallow it, Joshua," I demand. He shakes his head again with an 'mm-mm,' telling me that he didn't want to. "Joshua, don't even pretend you don't know how to swallow," I joke. He has to stop himself from laughing, so he wouldn't spit it out.

Reluctantly, Joshua swallows the blood. "Ewww! Ugh! That was so gross!" he complains. I drop the visor again, so he can watch the bruises and small cuts on his face heal in the mirror. "Oh, my god... What is this sorcery?!" he shouts. "I love it!"

I smile and thank Damon – I can be nice sometimes. "Now, what?" he questions.

"I just want you to compel him to be like normal," I start. "That he never saw you and this never happened," I elaborate. "Well, also that his date with Carlos didn't pan out and they went their separate ways. If anyone asks, he stayed with me – unless Stefan or Zach ask, then he just went home."

Damon looks at me with a raise eyebrow, and I just raise mine right back at him. He does the compulsion, and while Joshua is still in a daze, Damon turns to me.

"Okay, lastly," I say. "How do I get rid of the smell of blood on me, so Stefan doesn't be...you know...Stefan?"

He smirks that glorious smirk of his and replies, "Replace it with another smell." He steps forward once more, suggestively even.

I pat him on the chest and give my own smirk while saying, "Thanks for the ego boost, hon, but that would be just as difficult to explain." I walk around him to head for the driver's seat. "What, with Zach wrapped around my little finger and all," I add smugly.

"Don't forget that you owe me, Rayna," Damon threatens while zipping around and behind me, into my personal space.

"Aw, you remembered my name," I say sweetly, yet condescendingly as I reach up and lightly rack my nails down his chin.

He just smirks and zips away. I quickly get into the driver's seat again as Joshua snaps out of it.

"Where the _hell_ have you taken us?" he questions.

"Hey, you're the one who let me drive," I deflect. _Good job, Damon._ "Now, tell me how to get to your house again."

We make it to his house, and he changes clothes so we can go shopping. Once at the clothing boutique for dresses and tuxes, we start browsing. Unfortunately, because of the _Taken_ mini movie, this morning, we don't have a huge amount of time to look. We take turns modeling before finding the perfect outfits, plus accessories. Eventually, we find what we want and go to the counter to check out. I see the perfumes and a plan formulates. While the cashier is ringing us up, all on one receipt, I pick up one of the open bottles used to sample the scent. I pretend to be testing it and 'accidentally' spritz some on Joshua.

He gasps accusingly and quietly say, "Bitch!" as to not draw too much attention to us from other customers.

I shrug while handing my card to the cashier and spritz him with a different scent. He makes a sound with his tongue on the roof of his mouth, expressing 'I know you didn't.' I smirk smugly at him. He picks one up and spritzes me. I let him; I mean that is the plan here. Soon, we're spritzing each other with different scents. After the card was run and the transaction was finish, we got kicked out with our bags of purchased items. We leave in a giggly mess.

With only a couple of hours left before the start of the party – two and a half to be fashionably late, we rush inside and make our way towards the stairs. Zach happens to be coming down the steps at that moment. He halts and steps back a little.

"Whoa!" he exclaims, covering his nose. "What happened?"

"What, you don't love my aroma of fifty scents of perfume?" I jest. "We're going to go take showers and start getting ready for the party," I tell him. "Do not wait until the last minute to get ready," I tell him seriously while pointing at him. I give him a quick kiss before Joshua and I run up the stairs to take showers in separate rooms.

**(***A/N: Ahead, I will be describing more on the clothes and makeup and whatnot. Just a small bit, but it's a part of what's going on in my head for her manipulations with Zach. You can ignore the descriptors and make it your own still. The bigger details, of course, will be on my URSTYLE page.***)**

After our showers, Joshua and I are in my room in robes while we finish up my hair, nails, and makeup. We also make sure Joshua's hair is looking good. After that, and while I wait for my nails to dry, Joshua starts getting ready in the new tux I bought him – well, it's just slacks and a button-up. I really don't know where all the money comes from on my card, but I'm not complaining. It's a blessing in disguise.

Once he's completely ready, my nails are finally dry. Thank you quick drying nail polish. I then begin getting ready. I pull my dress up and over my hips, pulling the straps over my shoulders. I put some clothing tape on the edges of the fabric that's on my breasts to insure that I will have no nip-slips. I slip my heels on and jewelry next.

I hear a knock on the door, and Joshua lets them in. I hear him gasp and look up to see Zach is the visitor. He's looking at Joshua like he's lost it, but once I see Zach, I understand his shock. _Oh, my god. What is he wearing?_

"No," is all Joshua says before he leads Zach to the mirror I'm standing in front of.

"No?" Zach repeats questioningly. He looks at himself in confusion. He then sees me in the reflection next to himself. "Oh, my god," he breathes. "You look amazing." He continues to stare at our reflections before it seems something dawns on him. "Oh, my god," he starts. "I look like I'm your dad," he reveals with just a hint of depression.

"Aww," I chuckle out. "We'll fix it," I assure him. _Damn right, I'm fixing this. I'm not going anywhere with the 90's._ "Okay, first," I begin.

"You only wear ties to something serious or extremely formal – where it's better to wear a bow-tie," Joshua finishes as I remove the offending article of clothing. "Next," Joshua then begins.

"You don't button up the top button without a tie or bow-tie, unless you're extremely religious or a high school nerd," I finish for him while unbuttoning the top two buttons. While I fix his collar, I look up at him through my eyelashes and brush my finger tips on the skin of his throat. He smiles at me with a mix of shy and sultry. "And last," I continue.

"Us guys can have that wiggle room without looking like we're hiding fat," Joshua finishes. "I've seen you in a fitted sweater, and I know you don't have any fat to hide.

Zach blushes from the compliment. "Okay, now, undo your pants and hold them open," I demand. He stares at me in shock and glances at Joshua in the mirror. I shoo Joshua out of the room, to which he rolls his eyes and leaves. "Now, pants," I demand again. "I'm going to show how to wear the shirt."

"I think I'm capable of tucking my own shirt," he says with a small smile.

"I know," I reveal. As a sultry smirk spreads across my face, I demand one last time, "Pants."

He scoffs, but in a good way. Clearly, he wants to; he's just a little embarrassed that a 19-year-old woman is fixing his non-existent fashion sense. Especially when he's attracted to said woman. He does as I have instructed, and I take my time in smoothing down the fabric. No, you dirty-minded people, – well, dirtier-minded people – I do not grope his dick. That doesn't mean I don't double down on the tease, though. I press our fronts together while smoothing my hands down his back from the middle. Okay, I do touch his butt. He blushes. I smooth down the sides, too. With my right hand on his left side, I slide it across his abdomen as I make my way behind him. I then smooth both hands down from just under his chest, splitting them so they go down to the top of his thighs just before making it to his groin. He makes this noise that I think has to do with disappointment. In these heels I'm almost as tall as him, so I can see his eyes are closed from over his shoulder.

"All done," I whisper while I'm still close to his ear.

He clears his throat and opens his eyes. Before he buttons and zips his pants back up, I have him sit on the bed to loosen the shirt a bit so it's not constricting. When he does his pants back up, I move him back to the mirror.

"Much better," I say. "And no jacket – it is summer." He nods his head. I grab my clutch with my phone and makeup inside, and we join Joshua downstairs. "I'm debating something, Joshua," I say. He looks at me. "Should we roll up his sleeves or not."

Joshua takes a moment to look at Zach. "I think we should," he decides. So, we do. We roll his sleeves up to a bit under his elbows.

We go get in the SUV and take off for the Lockwood residence. Once we arrive, there's only a short line to get in. Most of the people having already arrived. We get to the back of the line until it's our turn to be introduced and invited in. You would think that the founding families would have put in their journals about some of the vampires being out in the sunlight when they discovered who exactly was a vampire.

"Zach?" Mrs. Lockwood questions in astonishment. I mean he is pretty much a recluse.

"Carol," he says back nervously. I grab his hand and lace our hands together to give him some more confidence. Well, that and to make sure he remembers I'm here and that he doesn't want to bail on this fine piece of divinity. "Uh, this is Rayna Abremins," he introduces me. "She's new to town."

Carol holds out her hand and puts on a smile. "Hi, I'm Carol Lockwood," she introduces herself while shaking my hand lightly. "Welcome to Mystic Falls," she adds while letting Zach and I pass.

"Thank you," I say. "I'm enjoying the town, so far." I also shake hands with Mayor Lockwood as he eyes me with a look I can't interpret, and then I shake Tyler's hand. I'm surprised he's still standing here, greeting people. He smirks at me.

Still holding my hand, Zach beelines for the small open bar he spots in the middle of the main room. He immediately orders a bourbon. Joshua followed right behind us, but he disappeared before we got to the bar. I assume he either found another lesser friend or a cute guy.

"Really?" I question lightly with a small smile. "We just walked through the door." _If he's drinking, then so am I._ I flash my pearly whites and order, "Long Island Iced Tea, please." The bartender makes it without question.

Zach just looks at me, and I look back at him before raising my eyebrows with a small smirk. People are staring. I can't tell if they're more shocked to see Zach here or to see him with a young woman. Joshua walks up to us.

"Why is everyone staring?" he questions.

"Us," I answer simply while indicating Zach and me. "I say we give them something to talk about."

"Like what?" Zach asks while looking around at the staring people.

I put my alcoholic tea down on the bar and move his face to mine via his chin. I kiss him long and passionately. He wraps his arms around me to pull me closer. A throat clearing interrupts us. We break apart to see that it's the Mayor.

Zach looks back at me. "Two hours?" he asks, or rather begs.

I roll my eyes jokingly with a smile. "Okay, fine," I pretend to cave. "Two hours." He rushes in to give me one more peck on the lips before clearing his throat and following the mayor into what I presume is his office.

Joshua and I walk away so he can introduce me to more people. Eventually, Carol steals me away for a bit.

"Since you're new," she begins as she hooks our arms together and begins to walk us around slowly. "I wanted to take this opportunity to potentially rope you in for charity events."

"Blunt – I like it," I jest. We share a smile. "Uh, how about I come by tomorrow to talk about it."

"That's a great idea," Carol agrees. "How about around 11am? We'll do brunch."

"Perfect," I confirm. "I'll even drag Joshua along," I add.

"Yes, the more the merrier." Carol and I part ways.

I wander for only a minute before someone wraps their arms around me from behind. _This better be Zach._

"Has it been two hours yet?" he asks into my hair. I giggle softly and check the watch around his wrist.

"Nope," I deny. "We still have one whole hour left," I answer while turning around in his arms. I wrap mine around his neck. He whimpers as he puts his face in the crook of my neck. I giggle again.

"Then I'm going to need another drink," Zach declares. He pulls me along to the bar again.

I see Joshua on our way and stop Zach for a second. "I'll meet you over there," I tell him. "I've just got to tell Joshua something real quick." He looks reluctant to let me go, but with a smile in his direction, he does. "Oh, Joshua." He turns to look at me from a conversation he was having with his Uncle Will, otherwise known as Coach Tanner. "Will," I nod with a smile in greeting.

"Rayna," he returns the greeting while checking me out. I think he was trying to be discrete, but he wasn't.

"Okay, you're still off tomorrow, right?" I ask him.

"Correct," he concurs with a single nod.

"Do you have plans?" I inquire. He shakes his head to express that he does not. "Good, we have a brunch date with Carol here at eleven in the morning."

He looks at me like I'm absurd. "How did you get brunch with Carol Lockwood so quick?" he interrogates.

I return the look with a milder version. "Is that a big thing?" I question.

"Huge!" he exclaims. "And you're dragging me along? Best friend ever." He gives me a quick hug. I chuckle and head back to Zach who is still waiting at the bar and leaning up against it. I don't think his eyes ever left me. _Obsessed much? ...Good._

"Hello," I say while slowly encircling my arms around his waist.

I press myself against him. The bartender is gone – I assume he had to leave to get more of something. Zach slowly leans down to kiss my lips slowly but firm enough to put across how much he wants to leave. It really just lets me know how much liquid courage he's had. I have to admit, with the little bit of dominance that is peaking through, I'm becoming a little turned on. He pulls away and puts our foreheads together. During the kiss, one of his hands made its way to the lowest part of my back that is still considered my back.

"You really want to leave that bad, don't you?" I ask with a smirk. He just grins at me like a horny little teenage boy. I pause just looking at him for a minute. Honestly, I want it, too, by this point. "Okay, let's go."

"Yeah?" he questions in excitement.

"Yeah," I reply with a smirk. "But I'm driving." He stops to look at me as he pulls the keys out of his pocket. He looks at me in confusion. "How many drinks have you had, exactly?"

He smiles sheepishly, and hands the keys over. I let Joshua know via text that we're leaving if he needs a ride. He replies back that he can find one. Once we're in the car and moving along, he sits antsy in the passenger seat. I just grin at him and the way he's acting. We stop at a stop light, and I see a convenience store down a few building. A thought occurs to me. Something important. I look over at Zach. He looks back.

"Do you have any condoms?" I ask. He stops for a minute then sighs in defeat. I chuckle lightly. "We'll stop."

He runs in to get them as quick as he can. While he's in there, I go ahead and remove the fabric tape from my breast. Now, the fabric is free from my skin. Zach runs back out to the car. "Got 'em."

Once we're home, he can't keep his hands off of me. We don't even make it away from the car before he leans me against it to make out. Then, he practically drags me into the house, but he has to kiss me some more. Now, he has me pressed up against the wall of the staircase in the foyer. I slowly start unbuttoning his dress shirt and get halfway before pushing him away lightly to pull him the rest of the way up to his bedroom. It's closer.

I remove my jewelry and my clutch while he unbuttons the rest of his shirt. I move towards him to push him down on the bed to make him sit on the edge, so I can use him to balance myself while I unzip the back of my sandal heels to remove them. He pulls me to stand between his legs and kiss me some more. I remove his button-up shirt completely and rake my fingernails up and down his back and in his hair. He stands up without breaking our kiss to undo his belt and pants. While he does that I rake my nails up and down his chest and abdomen, as well. He moans through the kiss.

Once he's fully naked, he kisses down my jaw and neck. He kisses my right shoulder before sliding that strap down. He kisses me on the lips before moving to my left shoulder and kissing it. He then removes that strap, letting the dress fall to the floor. It is in this moment that he realizes that I'm not wearing any underwear. Zach inhales sharply and looks into my smirking, sultry eyes. He kisses me long and hard before guiding the both of us to the bed. He pulls the covers back, puts on a rubber, and wastes no time in submerging himself within. Here's how you know it's been awhile for a man: when _he_ has to stop and adjust and get used to it. He's taking a little longer than I would like, so I make him look at me and kiss him passionately.

"Don't stop now," I whisper seductively on his lips.

It's works; he finally starts moving slowly while kissing me deeply. Soon, we're nothing but a mess of moans and friction. At one point, we roll over so I'm on top. Eventually, after much in-and-out, push-and-pull, give-and-take, we finally reach our climaxes. After a satisfying two and half hours. I roll over and curl into his side. He wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head. I look up at him to see this dopey grin on his face. It makes me smirk.

_Yes. Yes. Inflate my ego. It makes me better at this game._

I prop myself up on my elbow to lean over and kiss him on the lips. "I'm going to go take a shower," I whisper. He groans in protest, not wanting to let me go. I giggle softly. "I'll be right back," I assure him, kissing him on the lips again. "I'm just going to shower and get something to drink." I kiss his jaw. "Do you want anything?" I ask him.

"You," he whispers while pulling me back on top of him.

I giggle as we kiss sensually, yet lazily. Clearly, he's worn out. "Anything else?" I question quietly against his lips with a small grin.

He groans and lets me go, reluctantly. I get up and grab his button up for cover before gathering my things and heading for the door. I turn around to blow him a kiss and head to my room to shower. After the shower, I throw my hair up into a ponytail and put on some undergarments and an open robe. I also put on some comfy socks and head down to the kitchen for a bottle of water. After getting it out of the fridge and taking a sip, I turn around only to be scared to death by a shirtless Zach.

"The fuck is wrong with you Salvatores?" I gasp, lightly hit his chest. "My heart can only take so much of this hardcore peek-a-boo."

He just laughs softly and glances down at the rest of me. His face falls a little once he notices what I'm wearing. He looks back up into my eyes with the look. The look of hunger.

"Second wind?" I ask, setting my water bottle down. He just nods, gripping my hips and pulling me towards him. "Did you happen to bring down a condom?" I ask breathily.

He grins and reaches into the pocket of his lounge pants to pull the packaged rubber out. I grin back while pushing him back to move to the kitchen island so I can lean against it. I lean my front into the countertop and look back at him over my shoulder with a small grin. Zach grins back, getting the picture. He looks around, presumably for Stefan. Pressing his whole front into my back, he kisses my neck and behind my ear. I lean my head back onto his shoulder and reach around to run my nails through his hair, moaning softly. He slowly starts pulling the robe up to bunch between us around my lower back. He pulls himself out to wrap up while I pull my undies down enough for access. He hastily plunges in and holds on to my hips, rocking us back and forth. With this angle, he repeatedly hits my g-spot. I grip the adjacent side of the island.

Once we're getting closer to our releases, I open my eyes to see Stefan watching us from just behind a doorway. I grin with my mouth open from the pleasure. When he notices that I can see him, he looks away and leaves. Zach raises my robe higher - I assume to get a better view at what he's doing. Men and their need to watch themselves fuck. After just under about an hour we climax. For a minute, he just stays still, leaning his forehead against the space between my shoulder blades. I have my other arm folded in front of me with my forehead leaning against it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Rayna's Game  
**_A Vampire Diaries fanfic  
_The Anonymous J.

**A/N:** *****My apologies. I got busy the week before last, so that's why there wasn't a chapter last weekend. So, this week was dedicated to writing this chapter. I am ****_not_**** proud of this chapter. At all. I just don't feel like it's written very well. I'm about ready for transcripts because the original-esque pieces are getting harder for me to write. LOL! I'll have one more, though, then it'll be the start of the show.***** Book (For Whom the Craft Tolls), fiction about witches and magic. Check it out on Wattpad ( TheAnonymousJ). Just realized that I never told you where it is. :). I have this story on Wattpad, too, but not many people have checked it out there. URSTYLE (The Anonymous J.) for visuals. Errors: (grammar, spelling, show info) Comment and let me know to correct it. Read Chapters 1 through 3 first.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything Vampire Diaries. I only own the OFC and other OCs and any plot changes throughout this fanfic.

**Summary:** Rayna explores the world of Vampire Diaries, integrating herself within its story. Her main goal is to mold it to her survival. She feels like this isn't the first time she has been through something like this, but she can't conjure up the details of the previous times. Follow her along on her unnamed quest. Rated M for language, violence, and mature scene.

**Rayna's Game  
**Chapter 4  
_Summer of Love Games (Part 4)_

FAST FORWARD ONE MONTH...

Carol's charity "event" has finally come to fruition. All of that planning was becoming exhausting. I seriously don't know how she does it. It was boring and mundane, in my opinion. But atlas, it has arrived. We decided on a book drive for the library. Carol was mostly in and out with other duties and things she's in charge of, so she left me in charge. Obviously. And I made Joshua second in charge.

Some of the teens were there – some surprisingly. Elena, Bonnie, and a jealous Caroline were there. She just couldn't stand it because she wasn't in charge of this event. Just so she would stop bitching and whining and just leave me alone in general, I put her in charge of money donations. She then put a few cheerleaders in charge of practically guilt tripping people into making money donations. I'm sure it's just to say she was valuable after all.

I half-ass help out on some of the shelves, putting books up in author alphabetical order. Everything is in author order, then title order, then series or volume order. No Dewey Decimal system here. Which is fine; I don't like the number system. I don't get it. I come across a cart full of books and look through a few, acting like I'm sorting or something. One of those books is a tome like book. Not an overly huge tome, but a tome-looking book nonetheless. It was about the Norse Gods and Goddesses. I get a slight almost not there buzz from the book – like it's calling out my name, but there's a jammer in the area that's weakening the signal until it's almost non-existent.

_It just seems so familiar…_

"Oh, thank god!" Joshua exclaims in relief next to me. I glare at him for startling the shit out of me. "I thought someone had stolen this one," he says as he snatches it out my hands, walking off to the mythology section of the library where he was working.

_I know that mofo did not_, I think while glare at his retreating back. I ignore that moment and move on, walking towards Caroline. "Ladies, how is everything going?" I ask sweetly.

"Smoothly," Caroline answers with a big smug grin.

"Good," I answer nonchalantly. "Keep up the good work," I finish generically before walking off before she could engage me into a real conversation.

I walk around aimlessly, avoiding doing any actual work. Pure supervision from me. Zach shows up with a frappuccino in hand. I walk to the desk and bring him with me to the back room where I put the drink down on a table and pull him towards me for some much needed fun.

While we're making out and flush against each other, the door whips open to reveal Carol, whom had stopped in to check on things. Zach and I split up with a slight jerk.

_Can I not get any goddamn peace around here?_ I think with an internal sigh.

She just gives me a look with a knowing ghost of smile.

"I need to get going...," Zach says slowly as he steps away from me.

"Coward," I whisper jokingly at his retreating form. He just barely stifles a light chuckle.

Once he leaves Carol looks back at me. "What?" I question in mock innocence. "I was just..." I pick up my frappuccino. "...enjoying this frappuccino in peace..."

She can't help but crack a smile. While we walk out of the back room, she quietly tells me that she understands. She unnecessarily informs me about how she and her husband, Richard, were in their early adulthood. In this very library. I gasp in jest, supplying a 'naughty' to her in a whisper.

LATER THAT EVENING...

The book drive went marvelously. We were able to accumulate almost two hundred and fifty books and nearly a thousand dollars. Creates a little more respect for Caroline. She talks so much because she's good at it – to get what she wants. And she knows it; it's why she's so smug about it. Flaunt what you got, I guess. Put it to work, I say.

I arrive at the boarding house in the late evening and am surprised when Zach swoops me up, spinning me around once. I giggle as he finishes this unusual Zach behavior with a soft kiss.

"What has you acting all dovey?" I question with my arms around his neck and a small grin. "You're either excited about something, or you're softening a blow." His smile drops down to a small smile. "So, what is it?"

I loosen my arms but leave them around his neck. He, in turn, tightens his hold around my waist.

"A few months ago, I promised the mayor that I would run an errand for him a couple of states over," he begins hesitantly.

Keeping up the ruse that I 'love' him, I drop the smile completely and ask, "For how long?"

"About a week," he answers as he lowers his face to the crook of her neck.

"When do you have to leave?" I lightly scratch the back of his head as a smile creeps its way onto my face. Stefan time.

"Tomorrow."

"Well," I start, pulling away so he looks at me. "We should get started then."

I smile seductively at him, and he reels me in to kiss me long and hard. I giggle for excitement as we stumble up the stairs to his room.

THE NEXT MORNING...

I wake up curled into Zach's side. I readjust my position, running my hand down his well-toned abdomen. I scrunch up my face at that. _Well-toned_ abdomen? Zach is fit, but not that fit. I squint my sleepy eyes open, but I don't see Zach. Instead, I see Stefan sleeping next to me. Either Stefan is getting really bold and concentrating hard, or Damon is fucking with me. Either way, I'm surprise it's possible. I clearly can't be compelled, but I can get a dream invasion? I guess I'm still trying to understand what I'm capable of, or at least immune to.

He opens his eyes and looks down at me. We stare at each other for a moment before it really clicks for him. It's his turn to scrunch up his own face in confusion.

"What's happening?" he asks, looking around.

This is definitely his room. Cluttered as fuck. Horde much.

He's making it sound like he's been sucked into a mind manipulation, too. Can a vampire connect two people in the same 'dream?' I don't think I have ever seen that.

"I _was_ sleeping peacefully," I supply. Might as well have fun. This _is_ supposed to be a dream or something. Let him think it is. "But I'm glad to be awake now."

I lean up and kiss him softly on the jaw. I pull back just enough to look him in the eyes with a smirk. He smiles unsure before propping himself up on his elbow leaning over me. I follow his position and prop myself up as well. He looks down at me for small moment. Really looking. He's never been this close before. He lifts his hand up to my face and cups my cheek. Slowly, he moves forward until our lips are touching softly.

I'm suddenly awoken by movement next to me. Zach chose that particular time to wake up. I open my eyes to see the stretching body of Zach Salvatore instead of the toned and sculpted one of Stefan. I frown a little at that.

"What's that face for?"

I look up at Zach and give him a pouty look, declaring, "I don't want you to go." But, really, I do want you to.

I straddle his waist and lean down to kiss him lazily, practically laying on top of him.

"You could always come with me," he offers breathily while I smooch down his cheek, his jaw, his neck.

I groan, sitting up, giving him a full frontal view. "I can't; I too made a commitment to a Lockwood," I complain. "The Mystic Falls Independence BBQ is tomorrow," I inform him. "Which you're gonna miss."

"Actually, that was part of the reason I agreed to do this errand," he confesses sheepishly.

He starts rubbing his hands up and down my body from my mid-thigh rising up and slightly around my torso to just under my breasts. Slowly caressing back and forth. Right behind my ass, I can feel his dick hardening slightly.

"You don't have to leave right now, do you?" I question enticingly.

I back up a bit to his hips and pull him into a sitting position.

He grins like a teenage boy and replies, "I think I can wait just a little bit longer."

He wraps his arms around me, kissing my chest. I snake my arms around his neck, hugging him to me and giggling.

FOUR HOURS LATER...

I finally crawl out of bed to take a shower and get dressed. Zach left about an hour ago, but I decided to grab some more lazy dozes. After the shower, I get dressed and head downstairs for some food. My phone tells me it's just after eleven in the morning.

Walking down the steps, I see Stefan making himself a drink at the little table near the fireplace. I guess it's five o'clock somewhere, right? I watch him as I finish the steps and start walking past. I notice him glance at me from his peripherals and decide to acknowledge him.

"Hey, Stef," I grab his attention fully.

He seems to hesitate as he turns around to look at me fully. His lazy smile looks more like a reluctant one. _What's that about?_

"You know that Zach is out of town, right?" I ask.

I'm sure he does. Zach was probably wary about leaving me alone with a vampire. Vegetarian or not.

"Yeah," he says nonchalantly. "He let me know yesterday."

He pays more attention to his glass of amber liquid than he does of me. Maybe this is about the weird dream thing were both in. I still know what was happening there.

We sit there in silence for a bit. Him staring interestedly at his drink, and me studying him.

"So, remind me because it was so long ago since I was a teenager myself…," I begin, causing him to look at me curiously with a raised eyebrow. "Do we throw the house party the day the owner leaves or the day they're to come home?" I jest.

He cracks a smile that seems genuine enough. "I think we're supposed to do when he's on his way home so he can walk in on a bunch of drunk teenagers," he joins in.

I give him a smile, agreeing, "Right, right." I head to the kitchen for coffee and food. "I'll go make the calls now," I joke, pointing in the direction I'm heading.

He chuckles looking back down at his drink putting his free hand in his pocket. I walk into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee pot. I go through the motions of starting the brew before opening the fridge to get the creamer and to see if there was anything in there to make. I don't see anything, so while pouring and preparing my cup of joe, I call for Stefan.

_Time to put him to work._

As he walks into the room with me, I spit my coffee out back into the cup. "Ulh!" He walks straight for me to check on me. "What the fuck is that?"

"What's wrong with it?" he asks, taking it from me to smell of the caffeinated beverage.

I pour the grounds on to the countertop and we can see little purple things littering within the brown color. Vervain. Well, Zach clearly still doesn't trust Stefan with me. I can see the upset on his face, but I'm sure there's understanding in there, too. He's just like that.

_Pussy…_

"What the hell is this purple stuff?" I question, picking a piece of the plant up between my nails.

"I'm not sure," Stefan plays dumb. I glance at him like I think he knows, which I do. "Maybe it's some kind of herb?" he questions more than states, playing dumb.

I take the bag and throw it away, and then I clean up the mess on the counter. I decide on just having some soda instead. I don't see anything I can make instantly like a sandwich or something. I shut the fridge door with a frown and turn to Stefan before putting on the most exaggerated sweetest smile that I can. He looks at me for a moment with a raised eyebrow before caving.

"What do you want?" he asks reluctantly with a smile.

While cooking a little lunch for the both of us, I sit at the island as we converse. He asks a lot about me, which is partially due to him investigating me and partially due to him not opening up to me because of who he is. I imagine that he doesn't think this will last long, and in a way, he's probably right. I still don't know why I'm here.

"Favorite book," he asks.

We've ended up doing a twenty questions game, and all of his questions are boring and innocent. I've tried pushing some boundaries by getting a little personal, but he's gotten good at evading these kind of questions.

"I don't really read books recreationally," I begin. "So, none."

I pause for a moment to think of my own question for him. He's already avoided the questions about his parents, siblings, and where's been while vague short answers.

"When you were younger, were you ever a peeping Tom?" I ask.

I pose it as a joking question with a little chuckle-giggle thing at the end. He goes rigid for a moment. I assume he was thinking about the day he watched Zach and I in the kitchen. That or he actually was a pervert as a child.

"No," he starts slowly. "I was fairly well behaved back then, or I would get my ass beat."

He turns around to my raised eyebrow and smirk, as he hands me a plate of French toast. He pauses, staring at my eyes. A deer caught in the headlights. I drop it with a small, mischievous smile, commenting on how good the food looks.

LATER THAT NIGHT

For the rest of the day, Stefan ignores me. This is fine with me, I needed to go over tomorrow's barbecue with Carol anyway. We needed to make sure everything was still in order. Thankfully, she'll be there. Joshua has to work; though, probably at least half of his fares will be to and from the event.

Carol is normally a calm woman. Collected and the image of confidence. Deep down, if you pay close attention, she's nervous. She hides it well, but all that concentration on looking like Wonder Woman. She's a warrior, that woman.

I think she gets all the confidence imagery from the way her husband, Richard, holds himself. You piss him off and he's like a hammer looking for a nail to get what he thinks he deserves.

_Why does it feel like I've done all of this before?_

Carol is so focused that she didn't even notice her husband followed after me when I went to the powder room. To be clear, I didn't encourage this. I actually needed to use the bathroom and check my makeup as most women do. I mean… I'm not complaining.

As soon as I unlock the door and open it, I see him leaning up against the door frame like a "cool guy" and smirking.

I raise an eyebrow in amusement with my hands on my hips. He slowly looks me up and down while rubbing his thumb over his bottom lip.

I chuckle and inquire, "Can I help you?" I smirk at him as he grins, looking into my eyes.

He steps forward hastily and shuts the door behind him, locking it. He pushes me against the sink with his hands on my hips and our foreheads together. He breathes a bit heavy with our mouths barely touching. Bodies flush against each other.

I make him do all the work. Work himself up because nothing is going to happen – at least not right now. His wife is just down the hall and around the corner. I'm pretty sure Tyler is somewhere in this house, too. Not to mention all the charity committee people running around nearby.

My cellphone dings with a text message; it's Carol, asking where I am. I slowly push him away.

"I've been summoned," I explain, waving my phone in view. "Playtime is over," I finish playfully.

While leaving, I glance at him to see him leaning again the sink's counter breathing deeply. I smirk smugly with satisfaction. One more in my pocket.

THE NEXT DAY

Fourth of July. The birthday of the United States of America. Patriotism, salutes, celebrations, and for some reason, fireworks. Civilians handling explosives without authoritative supervision like cops or military. Only in America, right?

I had to get up at six in the morning just to be sure that I was ready and out to the picnic park area by half past seven. Carol wanted to do the last minute touch ups and make sure everything was ready. The picnic isn't supposed to start until eleven, but you never know. Something could've happened to the site overnight.

Well, it did. Alcohol and burned out blunts and cigarette filters littered the grass and tables. Some of the decorations were knocked over or torn down. Some weren't even able to be placed back where they were. We had to the call the committee back in to figure out what to do in the next three and a half hours.

While Carol and some of the other committee members start calling others and some companies to find someone to help out, I text Joshua to call me if he's not busy. After about ten minutes of waiting on him to respond by text or call, and with no solutions by the rest of the committee, he finally calls me.

"About time," I say with some boredom.

"Working?" Joshua says like it was obvious.

"We're having a charity crises over here," I inform him. "The site is trashed and Carol is freaking out." I glance at her, seeing her yell over the phone at someone.

"Trashed?" he questions. "Like people trashed it?"

I walk over to one the picnic tables, answering, "Yep." I reach for one the empty bottles of whiskey, tilting it back to look at it properly, thinking _cheap stuff._ "And according to the cheap whiskey, cigarettes, and blunts littering the area," I continue, "it seems like it was our resident stoners."

I see the police have arrived, including Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes.

"Do you by any chance know of a company that can help with decorations in a jiffy?" I ask while I watch the sheriff and Carol talk with each other about what happened.

"I may, actually," he ponders. "Let me check my phone for a number." I hear him get in his car and shut the door. "When I was dating Aaron, he would use this group about thirty minutes out of town," he offers. "Crazy expensive, though," he admits. "I never understood why he used them," he continues to ramble.

"Joshua," I interrupt. "Send me the number," I demand as nicely as I can sound. He agrees and I hang up.

Once I receive the number via text, I call them up order some things, emphasizing that I needed them soon. The man on the phone asks for payment upfront, so I give him my credit card number. I make sure he gets the best items. I head over to let Carol know that I've solved our problem.

"Liz, I want those responsible for this mess," Carol directs. "That is your job, isn't it?" she then berates her.

They both glance at my approaching form. Carol forces a smile on her face and introduces us. She then turns solely to me as if her conversation with the other woman was over, effectively allowing Liz to make an exit and escape Carol's wrath.

"Crisis averted," I announce.

"How?" she requests.

"I just got a hold of a business thirty minutes outside of town," I reveal. She looks defeated, I assume thinking they won't be here in time to have the decorations up for the event. "Relax, Carol, I told them we need them ASAP," I ease her worries. It works. "Plus, I told them to get the best."

She looks shocked before admitting, "I like showing off my money like the next person with it, but we actually have a budget for the charity events."

"Would you relax?" I command softly, waving my hand nonchalantly. "I've got it," I declare.

She crosses her arms disapprovingly. "I don't think Zach would appreciate you spending this much of his money."

I place my hands on my hips offended by the accusation. I honestly am offended, too. Just because I'm young and with a rich older guy doesn't mean that I don't have my own money. I mean I get it; I would probably think the same thing.

I hold up my VISA Black Card between my index and middle finger to show her that it has my name on it and no one else's, stating, "I'm not; this is all my money." Shock replaces the disappointment.

The decorating company arrives within the hour and begin setting things up professionally. After they're all done they pack up and leave. The park is beautiful and festive. And clean. They also threw in a free cleanup of the trash. At nine, stuff for the children arrive, such as sparklers and face paint. Around ten, the high school volunteers showed up. Then at about ten forty-five, food started arriving from a catering business who donated the food for the charity. There are a few early arrivers with their own food as well.

Games, gossip, and gloating commence throughout the day. I walk around and mingle with people. I don't know half of them. Carol just keeps introducing me to people every once in a while. I guess it's good to know all the important people I may need to use in the future. As soon as night fall arrived, twice the people showed up for the fireworks.

I think our resident celebrity has been drinking. A lot. Not so much to make him slur his words or stumble, but enough to make him flirt with me in public. He gets real close and speaks to me like we're talking in hushed, secretive tones. I mean it looks completely obvious. He also attempts a caress of my arm or something every once in a while.

"Would you stop?" I demand while trying to discreetly slap his hand away.

I walk away to go find Carol, but he just can't seem to help himself. Logan's hand makes contact with my ass with an audible smack. Now, normally, I wouldn't mind. He's not terrible to look at. However, I'm supposed to be dating Zach. I don't think the important people who don't want to fuck me would take to kindly to a young woman cheating on a founding family member while he's gone on business. Carol would do her best to make me a pariah in Mystic Falls, and may even succeed. For a moment or to a point.

For appearances, I have to slap him, but out of annoyance, it ends up being a little more. I whip around and deck him in the face. He clumsily falls to the ground, and I decide to hold myself back by walking away. As I flex my hand, he decided we weren't finish.

"You little bitch," he grunts out while stumbling to a stand.

He lurches forward and grabs my shoulder. Nothing harsh or anything, but the fact that he thinks he can do that is unacceptable. You don't put your hands on me like that. I'm too important. As he spins me around to face him, my fist connects to his face again. He doesn't fall this time, just stumbles back a bit. A knee to the dick does the trick, though.

Before I can do anything else, would you believe it, Stefan actually shows up. He pulls me away, preventing me from being satisfied. I don't know what it was about that moment, but my rage was building up into something sweet tasting. I enjoyed the feeling of hurting someone. The chaos.

Stefan pulls me to the park bathroom to clean up my fist. I'm surprised with how clean the bathroom is. I don't think I've ever witnessed a bathroom like this that was clean. I don't think so, anyway. Stefan walks me over to one of the sinks, standing behind me to help me wash my hand under the running faucet. Not that I couldn't do this myself, but I think this is that part of him that always wanted to be a person of medicine for so long. I don't even think he realizes that he's doing this. Or maybe he knows exactly what he's doing. Either way, I can use this.

I press myself into his whole body, relaxing my hands so he can move them as he needs to. I turn my head just enough to look up at his concentrating face and brush my nose against his jaw as his head hangs just over my shoulder. I can see him glance in my direction before focusing back on what he's doing. I play coy, looking down at our hands with a small, shy smile. I swear, for a moment, I could feel his whole body relax against mine, but then he was tense again. It happened quickly enough that I couldn't tell if I imagined it or not.

With the little bit of blood that had shown up now gone, he pulls away from me as if he couldn't wait to do so. He grabs some paper towels and begins to lightly pat-dry the busted area. I look up into his eyes to try and demand his attention. Eventually, he looks into my eyes. I move forward slowly, giving him the idea that I'm going to kiss him, but instead, I smoothly transition it into a hug. He hesitates for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around my waist. We stay in this position for probably a good few minutes. About halfway through, I tuck my face into the side of his neck. My nails barely scratch at the lower part of his hair on his neck. We slowly pull apart still pushed together. Face-to-face, nearly literally, we stare at each other. Slowly we inch forward; Stefan hesitates for a few seconds before kissing me hungrily like he needs this. Like he's been itching to do it.

We can hear two girls giggling their way towards the door of the bathroom and pull away from each other as to not get caught. The teenage girls bumble into the room with us, clearly a tipsy. They notice Stefan first; I mean he is a guy in the women's restroom. Then they notice me, and they know who I am by appearance. I take it they witnessed my display of aggression.

"Oh, my god!" one of them exclaims.

"You're the woman who kicked Logan's ass," the other one states.

The first, a brunette, turns the second, a redhead, "I heard he was harassing her." They look at me and just stare.

After a few seconds, I realize they're looking for an answer to this rumor. I nod with a look of fake annoyance from what he did. Of course, they're so drunk, they can't tell the difference. I notice that Stefan is no longer in the room. He must have slipped out while they were babbling. _Bitch._

"Well, I would love to continue talking about beating ass, but I need to get back to the event," I railroad over anything else they were going to say. "I'm sure Mrs. Lockwood is looking for me," I announce while I take my leave.

The rest of the night went without incident. Well, I did get stared at by plenty of people. Some of them had the audacity to actually look at me like _I_ should be ashamed. The fireworks were actually pretty good. I think I scared Stefan off. I couldn't find him at home either. Hell, I may have run him out of town.


	5. Chapter 5

**Rayna's Game  
**_A Vampire Diaries fanfic  
_The Anonymous J.

**A/N:**** *Sorry for the two week wait! After this is the start of the season, so I'm hoping to get them out every weekend with the added help of the transcripts. Then, hopefully, I can stop apologizing! LOL! Thank you to those of you that have stuck with me. I appreciate you all.*** Book (For Whom the Craft Tolls), fiction about witches and magic. Check it out on Wattpad ( TheAnonymousJ). URSTYLE (The Anonymous J.) for visuals. **Errors: (grammar, spelling, show info) Comment and let me know to correct it.** Read Chapters 1 through 4 first.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything Vampire Diaries. I only own the OFC and other OCs and any plot changes throughout this fanfic.

**Summary: **Rayna explores the world of Vampire Diaries, integrating herself within its story. Her main goal is to mold it to her survival. She feels like this isn't the first time she has been through something like this, but she can't conjure up the details of the previous times. Follow her along on her unnamed quest. Rated M for language, violence, and mature scenes.

**Rayna's Game  
**Chapter 5  
_Summer of Love Games (Part 5)_

FAST FORWARD TWO DAYS…

I really did run Stefan off. It's been two days since I've seen or heard from him. By yesterday morning I realized that I didn't even have his number. Hell, I even have the mayor's number; although, I don't think Carol even told him that she gave it to me just in case I couldn't reach her.

I didn't think Stefan would actually run away. I usually saw him as a mostly confident guy, what with his one hundred and sixty-one years alive. He usually respectfully declines, if he doesn't want anything to do with something.

I wasn't completely lonely, though. For the past two nights I've been having naughty dreams about Mayor Lockwood. And, I think I may have discovered something interesting about myself.

_FLASHBACK TWO NIGHTS AGO…_

_"Stefan?" I call out once I reach the living room area._

_I don't get any response. Not even when I call out on the second floor, either. It seems Elvis has left the building. If he is here, he's ignoring me. I eat some of the leftover food that Carol sent me home with from the event. She gave me enough for Stefan and me both. Well, his part is going in the trash. After cleaning up, I decide to head on to bed._

_It felt like minutes, but here I am awake again. It looks like dawn is just approaching. While looking out of the window, I realize that not only is this not my window, or any style I've seen at the boarding house, but it's not even the same view. The forest is replaced with multiple story buildings._

_Confused, I look around the room, seeing what resembles a hotel room. I continue to look around, turning over in the process. I come face-to-face with Richard Lockwood, our esteemed mayor of Mystic Falls. He stirs from his slumber and looks around confused as well. I turn towards him and notice a sign on the wall that mentions something about Roanoke._

_'So, we're in Roanoke, Virginia?'_

_Richard looks confused like Stefan did a couple of days ago. Surely, Damon wouldn't be doing this. It's more likely that he would have himself in this bed instead of Lockwood, and as I said before, I don't think Stefan is strong enough. I don't why he would do this anyway._

_"Where are we?" Richard asks in confusion. He voice is still a little groggy._

_This is clearly not just my dream. "Roanoke, remember?" I play innocent._

_He looks at me with even more confusion. I suppose he was expecting to be here with his wife. He observes the both of us more closely to realize that we're both naked under the sheets of the hotel bed. His expression changes to that of surprise and sly happiness. Pleased is the word._

_With a small, smirking grin, he positions himself so that he's leaning over me as I still lay with the covers still pulled over my chest. I smile and let my nails lightly scratch where his chest and torso meet on the left side._

_"Why are we in Roanoke?" he asks curiously as he slowly runs his hand down my upper arm from the shoulder to the elbow._

_'Time to sell my lies in bulk.' "I believe you told your family that you had something like council business to attend here," I start. "I told your wife and a few others that since Zach was gone for the week I was going to take just a couple of weeks to take care of myself after the scene with Logan," I finish as I slide my hand up his chest and his neck, then into his hair as I lean up on my other elbow._

**(A/N: I think is the most descriptive I think I've ever gotten with a mature scene. So, this is a WARNING if you don't feel comfortable with this level of description.)**

_He kisses me hungrily, and we fall back over with him on top. I giggle into the kiss, finishing with a moan. He pulls the covers down slowly to expose my chest and kisses down my neck and further until reaches my right nipple, sucking it into his mouth while flicking his tongue over the hardened, sensitive flesh. I breathe in a gasp in pleasure as he continues his actions and switches to the other mound._

_After he spends some short time there, he makes his way down south. Pulling my legs apart. I nibble on my bottom while he does a little teasing. One of my hands run through his hair while my other plays with a nipple. Finally, his tongue dives in and plays with my clit. He does this for only a few minutes which causes me to pout and groan in annoyance. He chuckles as he makes his way up my body with a grin. He reaches for the box of condoms that was sitting on the nightstand on my side of the bed. Soon he's plunging in. Both of us fall in a puddle of pleasure._

_Time skips around, but I don't think he noticed it – hell, I barely did. There was a moment of room service, as well._

_FLASHBACK NEXT DAY…_

_After waking up from that delicious little piece of another life, I am refreshed and relaxed. I take a shower and check again for Stefan, but find that I'm still alone in this big house. Carol calls me over to discuss Mystic Falls' next event that won't be happening until September. Apparently, this woman doesn't take a day off. I'm not even getting paid for this – not that I need the money, but still._

_While at the Lockwood Manor, Richard can't keep his eyes off of me. Discretely, of course. He eyes me like a piece of meat to his starving man. And for the sake of games, I'm enjoying the attention. I think some of the others are starting to notice something peculiar about why the mayor is working from home more often, and he seemed to visit the kitchen quite a bit, too. As long as I don't outright acknowledge him, I personally should be fine._

_FLASHBACK THAT NIGHT…_

_I wake up in the hotel room again. Turning over, I see Richard again. He's sleeping, so I carefully get up as to not wake him, and grab the silk rob on a nearby chair to cover myself up with. I ponder the recent events I've discovered. Before Zach left, I had a dream starring Stefan where he appeared to be confused as to what was happening. Same thing is happening with Richard; although, I'm sure by now he probably thinks it's a dream. If not, then he's a very confused man._

_I'm beginning to think I'm the common denominator in this whole thing. I wonder if I can seek someone out on purpose. I can hear him moving around on the bed. I think that's when they connect to my dream. Maybe. This is still a mystery to me, but a comforting one. Almost familiar._

_Well, time to go play._

END OF FLASHBACK – PRESENT TIME …

I stand, leaning against the wall that separates the living room from the kitchen. I stare at the door as if expecting Stefan to just walk in. Taking a sip of my chamomile tea, I walk towards the stairs to head up to my room. Let's test this thing out.

I finish up the tea, letting it calm my body into a resting state and climb into bed. After getting all comfy in bed, I turn off my bedside lamp. Now… I'm wide awake. When I want to go to sleep, I'm too wired. I get on my phone and play some cheesy little pixel'd game, hoping it would tire my eyes out. Thankfully, it works, but I had to spend an hour and a half playing that game. And I still couldn't beat it.

As I'm drifting off, I attempt to seek out Stefan. I don't think anything is really happening. Though I'm asleep, so maybe it is. However, I wake up with no dreaming of Stefan and check the time on my phone. Thirty whole minutes have gone by. I fling my head back onto my pillow again, thinking about the kiss Stefan and I shared at the park. Maybe that will help me dream of him again. He may even be actively trying to not dream of me. Or just not sleeping right now. Let's try this again.

I fall asleep once again, thinking of Stefan and the kiss. _Where are you?_

I wake up for a second time tonight. I sigh in frustration and reach for my phone again to see how long this one lasted.

_Where the fuck am I?_ I notice that not only is my phone not on the end table, but the end table is missing as well. Upon further blind inspection, I realize that I'm not even in a bed; I'm lying on couch. I reach behind my head and feel an end table there. With more patting around, I eventually find a lamp and switch it on to find that I'm not even in a room I recognize in the boarding house. Admittedly, I haven't explored every inch of the house, but I've seen most of it, and doesn't even look like it's the same type of house. It looks more like a log cabin.

I sit up and look around. I myself am wearing completely different clothes. One thing in particular stands out. The necklace he gives to Elena. Why would I have that?

I hear a noise coming from my left where I find a window. I don't see anything but darkness. Then I hear another noise behind me. Across the small room is what looks like the front door. I slowly walking towards it, reaching for the doorknob. I suck it up and whip the door open only to, once again, see darkness. Just as I cautiously step over the threshold, I realize someone is standing right next to me in the dark. In a reflex move, I jab my fist into it as my body recoils away. From the 'oof' that I received, I think I hit it in the stomach. It sounds like a person, too.

I reach into the doorway and slap my hand around for a light switch. When I finally find it, I flip it up. Thankfully, it was the porch light. There stands Mr. MIA himself.

"Oh. My. Fucking. Gods," I drag out. "I hate you." I walk over to the bed, facing away from him with my arms crossed.

"What are doing here?" he questions.

In a quick action, using a similar idea I did with Richard, I turn around with a look of confusion and ask, "What are you talking about?" I slowly walk over to him and ask, "Don't you remember?"

He looks at me confused and like he's pondering the possibilities of why I'm here. How it could be possible at all perhaps. I reach for his hands while he's distracted in his own thoughts.

"Stefan," I say softly, getting his attention back. "You brought me here for a surprise getaway," I remind him as if he should remember it to begin with. 'You told me you had a surprise for me, and then you blind folded me and brought me here with your speed."

Now shock has been added to the mixture of emotions on his face. He's probably thinking that either he's lost his mind and really forgotten however long, or that I'm some crazy stalker bitch that followed him to wherever it is he's at. I might be considered that since technically I did kind of follow him here. But I had an unestablished, un-thought-out plan to have some fun and sneak him around my little finger this week where I didn't have to worry about sneaking around Zach. Afterwards, I planned on it being easy to sneak around, but I have to reel Stefan in first.

"Did something happen to you out there?" I question as I release one of his hands and reach up for his face. "Did you try to feed from a bear or something?" I joke. "Hit your head?"

He searches my face for some sort of answer or an explanation. Like he thinks I'm just going to start laughing and tell him I'm just kidding.

"Maybe you just need some rest," I try and coax him, pulling on the hand I'm still holding.

I sit him down on the side of the bed and stand between his legs. He still looks at me with this lost expression. Cute, but not the look I want. I put my hands on either side of his face and lean forward to kiss his forehead. I place my forehead against his and run my nails over his scalp a little. He isn't resisting, so that's a good sign.

With nothing from him, I decide to move on. I remove his jacket and make a move to put it on the wooden rocking chair behind me. I'm stopped, however, by Stefan placing his hands on the back of my thighs, holding me in place. Still holding his jacket, I turn to look at him, placing my free hand on his shoulder. He lightly grips the back of my legs as if trying to fight his urges. He looks up at me as I slide my hand from his shoulder to his neck, softly nudging him to look at me.

He looks me in the eyes, but closes them, leaning into the caress of my hand on his cheek. He opens his eyes and looks at me again. He looks down to see the necklace. I think that's the answer he needed; if I have this, then surely he gave it to me. That would mean that surely he trusted me intimately. Suddenly, the pressure on my thighs pulls me forward until my knees bend on either side of his hips. His lips crash into mine desperately. Hungrily. One of his hands moves to my back and up into my hair up to my neck. The other presses me closer on my lower back. I drop his jacket onto the floor with a gasp of excitement. We fall back onto the bed, and he rolls us over so I'm on the bottom. I giggle, wrapping my legs more around his waist. He grins as he looks down at me, brushing his thumb on my cheekbone.

He's finally giving in. He leans down to kiss me again, but a sound outside distracts us both. We look towards the front door, which is the direction it's coming from. After a handful of seconds and no additional sounds, we shrug it off and continue what we're doing. Suddenly, there's a loud banging on the front door, scaring the shit out of both of us. There's an echo about the sound; perhaps it's an actual sound in the real world – or, I mean in their real world. I'm ripped out of the dream and back into my own bed.

_Well, motherfucker._ I draw out in my head. I wonder who that was at the door. I guess it's going to be awhile before I'll be able to find out. At least I know now that I can find him if I try hard enough. My phone rings with Zach's ringtone. _I'll have to try again tonight._

LATER IN THE EVENING…

I've gotten back from working with Carol some more. It was boring. Richard actually had to work in the city office today. Joshua has been working more than normal; I think he's trying to save up to move out. I'm in the kitchen right now, making myself something to eat. I'm just making a sandwich because of my lack of a real cooking ability. I hear a sigh from behind me, making me tense up. I slowly turn around with my butter knife raised like I was going to do any damage with it.

Eye's like a deer caught in headlights, I lay them on a figure. Stefan, in the flesh. We stare at each other for a few seconds before I toss the knife in the sink of water and walk over to him. I throw my arms around his neck and hug him close. I whisper with my lips right on his ear, brushing it softly.

"Thank gods," I whisper. "I was so worried about you."

He slowly pulls his arms around me, tightening them and holding me there for a long few moments. We pull back and look each other in the eyes. One of his hands moves to my face, caressing my cheek. He then lurches his head forward. Our lips catch one another like magnets. He lifts me up allowing my legs to wrap around his waist. I was too focus on our kissing and our hands that I didn't realize we were already in his room. I only noticed it when he shut his door. I suspect he used his vampire speed; I wasn't so distracted to have lost time.

We fall back on the bed, making me giggle, and he continues to kiss my lips, my jaw, and my neck. He chuckles when he finds a ticklish spot on my neck that makes me squeak and laugh out. After slowly taking each other's clothes off with added touches, kisses, and caresses, I find out that sex with a vampire really is better than sex with a human. I'm pretty sure I climaxed more than once during the whole thing. In exhaustion, I fall asleep after the whole ordeal.

Bright light filters through my eyelids, causing me to groan and squint them open. Yep, I'm still in Stefan's room, so that definitely finally happened. I turn over to peek at the other side of the bed, and sure enough, there lays a topless Stefan. I turn over completely and scoot closer to him. I raise up the covers around his hips to see that he's still completely naked. I notice him peeking an eye open at me and we grin at each other. A little morning quickie, yes please.

AT THE END OF THE WEEK – DAYTIME…

The next three days went a lot like that. Constantly fooling around like a young couple does. We were in my room and laying on my bed. I'm lying on my stomach, and Stefan is off to my side, leaning halfway on top of me. I'm trying to text Carol about charity stuff, but he can't keep his hands off of me. Through giggling, chuckling, laughing, and kissing, I'm surprised we heard the front door. Fun time is over – at least the freedom kind. Zach is back.

Stefan and I look at each other with a mixture of emotions. He then rushes off before Zach comes upstairs. I get up and casually make my way down the hall to Zach's room. He sets his bag down by his door and turns around to come back out. He yelps out in fright as I scare the shit out of him.

I giggle nearly insanely, declaring, "Yes! I finally got you back."

He rolls his eyes as he calms down, grinning, and teases, "Yeah, and it only took you a month and a half."

I pout slightly and lightly slap him on the chest as he draws me in. He kisses my nose cutely, and then my lips lazily. I can tell he's tired. He even looks tired.

I walk him over to the bed, filling him in on the things that he's missed out on. "You missed all the juicy things that happened on the fourth," I begin as he sits on the bed. He removes his shoes and jacket and listens to me. "First, before the event even happened, the picnic area of the park was trashed," I inform him as I sit behind him and rub his shoulders. He leans back into me and relaxes. "I saved the day, though."

I look down and have just enough of a view that I can tell he's about to fall asleep. I slide my hands up from where they ended up on his chest to his throat and pretend I'm snapping his neck with what I assume would be a makeshift cracking noise.

"It would be that easy," I draw out a little in mischief.

He hums a chuckle as he lazily opens his eyes and places a hand on one of my arms, responding, "Sorry, it was long trip."

"Well, then I guess you don't want to hear about me punching Logan Fell before the fireworks display," I say nonchalantly while backing away for him to lay down.

He stops me short by gripping my arm a little tighter to keep me where I am. His eyes are a little less sleepy now. He looks at me in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry, what happened now?" he asks shocked.

I smile at his change in demeanor and sit down so that I'm sitting at his side with my legs on either side of him. One leg is behind him and one leg is in his lap and hanging from the knee between his legs. Now his attention is more on me.

"It was well into the event – I don't know what time, but it was dark," I start. "I was cleaning an area up and tolerating Logan and his advances."

The annoyance on his face is pleasing as long as it's only directed towards Logan.

"He had been drinking, I think, all night long, so he was getting a little heavy with the flirtations the longer I ignored him," I continue.

I may be picking up on some jealously now. His hand goes to my thigh, squeezing it in an almost possessive way.

"Finally, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I walked away from him." Zach's light grip loosens completely on my thigh, and he rubs it a little. "Then he slapped my ass." That didn't go over well with him. _Yes my little puppet; I'm the most important thing in your life._

"He did what?" he asks incredulously.

Not that he doesn't believe me. He probably can't believe Logan did that in public, putting his credibility into question.

"I intended to just slap him across the face and walk away again, but I ended up punching him instead," I gossip about myself.

"What did he do?" he asks in worry.

He moves the hand on my thigh, replacing it with the other and leans on the original in my direction.

"He got up quicker than I thought he would and spun me around," I continue the story with him now hanging on my every word. "I deck him again, but he's sobered up a little now, so he doesn't fall over – just stumbles," I say while pretending I'm going to punch Zach in the jaw, making him smile a little. "So, I kneed him in the balls."

To symbolize this, I rub my knee and shin that's between his legs into his groin. He closes his eyes at the sensation with a groan. I smirk at that.

"Then Stefan swooped in and ruined my fun," I conclude.

He grins lazily before realizing what I had actually said.

"Wait, what?" he questions. "Stefan was at a public function?" he asks confused but more in a joking manner. "Willing?" he continues. "How did you manage that?"

"I didn't even know he was there until then," I confess.

He looks like he's about to the fall asleep on me, so I push him back gently.

"Why don't you take a little nap," I suggest.

He groans softly, but lays back on his pillows anyway. I give him a kiss and leave, shutting the door behind me.

I walk downstairs and see Stefan sitting on the couch with a glass of amber liquid. He gulps down the last of it as I come down the stairs, setting the glass on the coffee table. Once I reach the bottom, he looks up me with his head still low. I slowly walk towards him while keeping eye contact. I stop in front of him and reach out for him to take my hand, which he does, and I lead him into the kitchen. This makes us farther away from the stairs and the bedrooms up there. While in the kitchen we make out for some time.

The next two month play out a lot like that. Stefan and I behind Zach's back. Richard and I behind Zach's back. The two of them unaware of the relationship I have with the other. It's a little exhausting, but so damn fun.

**(***A/N: I am so sorry to stop here, but this is already a week overdue. It was getting really hard for me to keep coming up with my own content for this. Especially since I'm ready for the scripted parts. Of course, I'm still going to put my own content in there, but it'll be easier with other stuff in there, too. Don't worry; I'm not giving up on this story. I'm just really ready for more people to show up for more playing and more drama. LOL! _And_, they'll hopefully come out on the weekends more consistently without skipping a weekend. Unless something comes up, of course. Cross your fingers and keep on to me about it! LOL!***)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Rayna's Game  
**_A Vampire Diaries fanfic  
_The Anonymous J.

**A/N 1:**** ***** For those of you who didn't want to read my A/N chapter and decide to read this one… I am _SO_ sorry… Are you still here? :P You know that I have excuse: Ya, I'm just a really bad procrastinator, and I keep coming up with more and more ideas for different stories, or I'm just not into it right now and do stuff that doesn't involve writing anything.

**A/N 2: **Book (For Whom the Craft Tolls), fiction about witches and magic (only have a few chapters…). Check it out on Wattpad (TheAnonymousJ). URSTYLE (The Anonymous J.) for visuals. Errors: (grammar, spelling, show info) Comment and let me know to correct it. Read Chapters 1 through 5 first.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything Vampire Diaries. I only own the OFC and other OCs and any plot changes throughout this fanfic.

**Summary: **Rayna explores the world of Vampire Diaries, integrating herself within its story. Her main goal is to mold it to her survival. She feels like this isn't the first time she has been through something like this, but she can't conjure up the details of the previous times. Follow her along on her unnamed quest. Rated M for language, violence, and mature scenes.

**Rayna's Game  
**Chapter 6  
_Subtlety, a Lesson to Be Learned_

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009…

I wake up with a jolt. It was like something changed around me, but I don't know what it was or could be. I look at my phone on my bedside table to see that it's almost five-thirty in the morning. I roll my eyes and drop the phone back down, rolling over to go back to sleep.

It feels like I've been laying here for hours, teetering in and out of sleep with no real good results. I sigh in frustration and open my eyes to stare out the window; the sun was just peaking over the horizon. Well, I couldn't see the sun, but I could see the faint light. Obviously, it hasn't been _hours_, but maybe one. Suddenly, something moves in my vision, making me jerk and sit up. I focus on the window and realize that I'm staring at a crow that's staring back. It's sitting on the edge of my window on the outside, peaking around the frame.

_Damon._

I flip his crow off, wandering how he was accomplishing this. He can't compel me, but he can make me see this? Or do I have something to do with this? Unable to sleep any longer, I get up and put on my flip-flops to go see if he's outside and what he wants.

I open the door and walk out onto the front porch slowly as I look around in the dim early morning light. Suddenly, something drops from somewhere above the roof of the porch. I realize it's Stefan, which means today is the first day of school. I stay quiet. He's either going to notice me or move on. I'll play it either way.

He definitely notices me.

He turns around and stops short, seeing me standing there near the door. I've already put on a confused and shocked expression in anticipation of him seeing me. It wasn't too far from the startled one I was already portraying. He looks at me with his own look of confusion; I guess he's debating if this is real life or a dream.

While slowly stepping towards the porch, he watches me with wide eyes. He looks as if he's trying to coax a frightened animal to not be frightened; although, he looks more like I'm going to attack _him_. His hands slowly reach out towards me, trying keep me from running away without physically doing so. I just continue to stare at him as if I'm still trying to figure out what is happening.

"Rayna, I'm not going to hurt you," he says softly and carefully.

I continue to stare at him. I don't move back or at all really. Honestly, I hadn't plan on this happening so soon. I had planned on this happening probably after Damon kills Zach. Well, I guess I should've counted on things changing.

"…Okay..," I respond just as slowly. I look towards where he landed just moments ago before asking, "Where did you drop from?"

He pauses for a moment. I don't know how I want to play this. Do I want to go on with him, and potentially Zach, knowing that I know about vampires, or do I want him to think he can compel it away? He doesn't need to know that I already knew, though. Not yet.

He finally answers me hesitantly, "Uh… The porch roof…" He quickly continues as if he expects me to freak out. "Please, let me explain things," he begs slowly.

I make him sweat for a minute or so before taking a deep breath and hesitantly reach out for his hand. "Okay," I whisper. I can't just seem like I'm completely cool with this, but I'm not going to pull a classic Elena and shut him out.

He pulls me towards the bench on the porch near the door. For a moment, we sit in silence. He sits on one side with his elbows on his knees as he hunches forward and stares at his hands and the floor. I sit curled up on the other side, waiting patiently for him to speak. When the sun's light has become brighter, I realize that we've sat outside for some time now.

"Stefan?" I question, bringing him back to the here and now, forcing him to set his attention on me and get this over with.

We've sat here for too long. I'm bored and have to pee. I'm also a little hungry.

He looks at me before sighing and finally speaking up, "I don't want you to be afraid of me."

He sits up straighter and turns towards me, but his posture is still slouched a bit as if to shield himself if I reject him. He holds his hand out with hesitation, anticipating the rejection. I look at it as I pretend to contemplate taking his hand again. I decide to ease his panic and just take it softly and slowly. I think I can actually see the heave of a relaxing sigh of relief come over him.

"I don't know what it is you think I'm supposed to be afraid of yet," I reveal.

He looks at me in the eyes like it was a forceful action; he had to make himself have the courage to confess, "I died in the year 1864 at seventeen years old." I give him the proper expressional response of shock and incredulity before he continues with some hesitance, "I was turn into… into a vampire."

I start to jerk my hand away, just to pull his heartstrings with me, but I pretend to put on a brave front and hold his hand tighter. The expressions that cross his face are priceless. Fear, disappointment, hope. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Inside I'm smiling mischievously.

We go on with the twenty questions game; that's me asking him question after question even though I already know all of this stuff. Although, there were some questions I was curious about whether or not he had any knowledge of.

"Is there a Dracula character?" I ask, seeking out whether he knew about the originals _at all_, even if it was just a rumor to him.

He confirms that he in fact doesn't know anything about the originals. He only knows of the fake curse. I find it funny, knowing that he does know Klaus, he just doesn't remember him.

"Okay, what about other beings: werewolves, witches, ghosts, etcetera…" I continue the game.

He smiles a little at my curiosity and scoots closer. I assume he's testing the waters. I let him get comfortable. When I figure out what I'm doing here, I may need him for something.

While talking, Zach makes an appearance at the front door as if he's looking for one of us. Stefan and I discreetly release our hands and turn to him.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" Zach asks in an almost slightly jealous way.

I think Stefan noticed it, too. He glances as best as he can at me while answer him, "She was just psyching me up for my first day of school here."

If I had a better angle of his face, I would have been able to better tell if was rolling his eyes at Zach like I thought he was. We had decided that we would wait to tell Zach that I've found out – to make sure I'm not going to freak out about it later.

"I'm just trying to help you out," I mention. "When you said you were going to meet new people this summer, you never actually did," I complain.

"Speaking of school," Zach begins. "If you don't hurry, you'll be late," he states in an almost authoritative way.

Stefan nods his head, ducking it low like a scolded child, and he goes back inside to retrieve his backpack. On his way out, he waves at me. I wave back as Zach sits next to me on the bench. I snuggle up into his side, and he wraps an arm around my shoulders.

All through the day, I receive texts from multiple people – Joshua sends the most. His are just a bunch of bitchings about the people of Mystic Falls that he has carted around town today. I also have received a few texts from Richard with him just being dirty. I'm honestly surprised that man hasn't sent me a dick pick yet. A ding from my phone alerts me to another text. _Did I speak too soon?_ I check to see that it's just another charity update from Carol. I also received some texts from Stefan as well. They gave me a little more information that I already knew.

He let me know that he's done this countless times. I asked why he tortured himself by going through high school. He replied that it makes him feel human. Bleh! Human-schmuman… Give me immortality any day; I'd live the shit out of it.

LATER THAT DAY…

Zach is in the study looking over something. I think it's something for Richard, but I'm not positive. He was too busy for me apparently because he locked the door. I assume it's just council business, and he doesn't want me to know about it since he doesn't know that I know about vampires.

I make my way to Stefan's room to see what he's up to. I believe he would've run away from Elena in the cemetery today. I see him writing in his journal at the desk in his room. I walk in and over to him, looking down at the book while I lean on the desk next to him, sitting on the edge a bit.

"Oooo," I say like I'm really reading it.

Being 161 years old, you would think that he had learned to write properly. Nothing but chicken scratch as far as the eye can see. I think I do see something about Elena in there. He glances up at me as if asking if he can help me.

"Mmmm," I motion to the name, "Who's Elena?"

He closes the journal and lightly tosses the pen on the desk before replying, "No one; just a nice girl at school." I raise my eyebrows suggestively with a smile, and he says flustered, "Well, you read it anyway."

"I'm sorry, I can't read the language of chicken scratch," I joke.

He grins cutely at my remark while sitting back in his chair. He looks towards his door as if to look at or for something or someone. Or maybe he's listening. I assume for Zach since he's the only other person here.

"If you're looking for Zach, he's locked himself in his study," I divulge while looking towards the door as well. "Doing something for the Mayor, or something," I add before yelping out as Stefan yanks me onto his lap.

Once sitting sideways on his lap, I giggle, wrapping my arms around his neck. We grin at each other before kissing softly. I run a hand through hair while scratching his scalp. I've found out that this drives him a little wild in our past adventures. He clutches my body tighter, deepening the kiss. He moves his mouth towards my jaw, nudging my face to the side for better access to my throat. I moan softly with my eyes closed for a moment. When I open them shortly after, I spy a different kind of book in my peripheral vision. I reach over and can luckily reach it without moving away any.

I crack open the cover and read aloud, "Property of Elena Gilbert."

Stefan lifts his head in confusion at what I'm saying. Once he realizes that I'm about to peek into Elena's journal, he snatches it away from me.

"What are you doing?" he scolds.

"Why do you have her journal?" I ask teasingly. "If not to read it," I accuse in jest.

He purses his lips and begins explaining what had happened in the cemetery with her. Finding her where she had fallen and realizing that she had cut her leg and was bleeding.

"I don't have the best control around blood," he confesses, looking down towards my legs with his hand on my knee. "I lose control."

I place my hand on his cheek and make him look at me. He looks into my eyes.

"It's hard to be around people in general," he confides.

"Is it hard to be around me?" I ask quietly while rubbing my thumb over his cheekbone.

His brows furrow. Whether it's in confusion or contemplation or both I'm not sure. Soon after his inner searching, he shakes his head, moving his hand from my knee to my hip as he pulls me closer.

"Strangely, no," he answers in calmed bewilderment. "I mean, I can smell the blood in you, but somehow I feel calm like I don't need to feed," he continues.

We kiss softly for a moment before Stefan stops and looks towards his bedroom door. I look over, too, but I don't see anything. I look back at him to see what he's looking at. He sighs and hugs me to him with our foreheads together. I keep my eyes open and watch him. He finally releases me completely, letting me stand up. I now understand that Princess Zach must have finally come out of his tower. Speak of the Devil…

"Hey," Zach greets. "There you are," he states.

"Well, it's about time," I tell him. "I thought you would be in there all night," I complain with a pout.

I'm leaning onto Stefan's desk and twisting around to see Zach. He walks up to stand behind me as I'm right at the corner of the desk.

"What's going on?" Zach asks almost in a jealous manner again.

"I was just seeing how his first day went," I reply. "He met girl," I add.

This will both tease Stefan and aggravate him a little, and it'll set Zach of the scent. Hopefully, he'll stop being so clingy every time I spend time with Stefan.

Stefan rolls his eyes, and Zach relaxes his body some as a voice rings through the house, "Baetch!" Joshua has arrived. "Where are you?!"

_Hn. Bae-tch. Cute._ "That's my cue," I tell the guys. "Coming!" I holler towards the door for Joshua.

"Wait; where are you going?" Zach complains grabbing my hand and pulling me back to him. "I'm finally finished with all that work," he says, lightly holding me around the waist.

"I made plans with Joshua," I tell him, returning the lazy, intimate hug. "I didn't know how long you were going to be, and _you_ wouldn't answer me about it," I chide him.

There's a visible grimace in his expression while he makes excuses. The mayor wanted this; the mayor wanted that. _Well, Zach. You're a grown man._

"You're both welcome to come a long," I offer.

After sneaking Elena's diary off of the desk, I make it halfway to the door as Joshua walks in.

"Oh, my god," he whispers, looking around Stefan's room. "What the hell happened in here?" he refers to the state of the room: stuff everywhere with what appears to be no system.

Joshua and I are now stood next to each other, and I slip the journal into his man purse and extend the offer again, "Going once, going twice."

Zach declines and decides to just wait for me when I get back, and Stefan decides to stay in as well. Joshua and I leave after that, and I have him make a pit stop to the Gilbert residence. Thankfully, he's given Jenna a few rides, so he knows where it is. I pop the journal into their mailbox and off we go to the Grill.

Before I get the car door open to step out, I receive a text message from Stefan.

**Stefan: What did you do with it?**  
**Me: With what?**  
**Stefan: You know what I'm talking about, Rayna…**  
**Me: Sorry, who is this?**  
**Stefan: Not funny. What did you do with it?**  
**Me: *sigh* We stopped at her house, and I put it in her mailbox. I didn't even talk to her.**

There's a pause for a minute or two, and just as I'm about to get out of the car, I receive another text.

**Stefan: I could've given it to her myself.**  
**Me: In my opinion, you would look like you didn't actually leave when you disappeared but stayed behind to watch her leave the journal.**  
**Stefan: As appose to looking like I had come back to apologize for disappearing but instead found her journal left on the ground?**  
**Me: Not when she's 17, and you're the mysterious, brooding new guy. You're welcome.**

**(***A/N 4: Yes, I actually text in full words and sentences, so she will, too. LOL!***)**

I end the text with a winking, kissy smiley emoji, and go on into the building. Joshua had been waiting for me by the rear of the vehicle. Albeit, he was waiting impatiently, but he was waiting like a good little follower, none the less.

While we make our way to an empty booth, I spy Jeremy Gilbert staring after Vicki Donovan like a love-sick puppy. Vicki is flirting with Tyler in front of her bother Matt. Caroline is talking animatedly with Bonnie Bennett – probably about all of the information she gathered from her Stalkers R Us factory. I guess they're waiting on Elena.

_I wonder if Stefan went to her anyway. We'll see when she gets here._

Joshua and I order our stuff and chat about random things. When Elena does come in, Stefan isn't with her.

_Point for me._

Maybe a few minutes have passed when Damon shows up. I guess that's a trade off in this universe. He heads for the bar, but spots me instead and decides to saunter over to our booth with that sultry smirk of his.

I try to discretely signal for him to not come over here by staring sharply at him and whispering, "Damon, don't you dare ruin shit. Stop it."

He either doesn't realize that I'm doing any of this, or he's ignoring it. I'm sure it's the latter. He plops down next to me, sliding me into the wall that divides our booth with the one next to it. He even goes as far as to wrap his arm around my shoulders. I look at Joshua with a tongue-in-cheek expression of annoyance, and then grab his hand and peel his arm off from around me.

As I remove his arm from my shoulders, I grab the steak knife from the cloth with the other hand. I then switch it to my other hand as he turns to signal the barkeep. The knife ends up between his legs and just under his dick, pointing right at his balls. Tickling it with the sharpness. He halts in calling the employee over as he relaxes as if this doesn't bother him one bit.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that he can easily take this knife from my hand with very little effort. However, I don't think he will. Not with a uniformed cop sitting ten feet away, having dinner with this wife and kid. Not when he knows by now that I don't really follow the rules if the circumstances of our second meeting have anything to do with it. He lets out an exasperated huff of air. I guess he didn't think I would go this far in a public place.

In a calm and collected voice, I demand, "You're going to get up, and we're going to pretend that you're just some creep to me, for now."

He looks at me in annoyance. I'm sure this is just a boring game to him that he doesn't want play.

"We're going to pretend that I thwarted off your advances," I continue firmly. "You can go to the bar or you can leave; I don't care."

I make sure he can still feel the knife by softly pushing it inwards. The point should now be applying noticeable pressure if we were able to see.

"When the time is right it can be revealed that it was a coincidence that you're related to Zach," I finish, speaking through my teeth.

I stare him down, listening to his chuckle as he puts his hands up in surrender before quietly declaring, "You're going to regret your actions, Rayna."

"I know."

There was no denying that he was going to make me pay. I'd be lucky if I could manipulate him out of it. I know he's cold and calculating when he needs to be, but so am I. I wouldn't be surprised if one of us was the death of the other. I'll make sure I'm the victor, but only after I have my fun.

Vicki walks over with our food while looking in Damon's direction as he leaves the building. She turns her attention to us, handing us our respective meals.

"What was that all about?" she inquires.

Keeping the knife hidden in my lap, I explain, "Just some creep, I guess."

She accepts my shrugging answer and moves on to check on some more customers.

LATER THAT NIGHT…

Joshua and I make it to the boarding house with him drunk and giggly. I ended up having to drive after all of the alcohol we consumed. Yes, all the alcohol _we_ consumed. Since Joshua is already 21 years old, he was able to get us drink after drink. The bartender was very into Joshua, so he never questioned my age. Joshua was drunk of his ass, but I was barely buzzed. I don't know if that's a plus or a buzz kill.

The drive consisted of him singing loudly and completely off key to a song that wasn't even playing on the radio. In fact the radio was turned off. I'm not sure what he was listening to. The house is nearly completely dark. There's just the porch light, the foyer light, and Stefan's bedroom light that's visible at the moment. Joshua and I stumble into the entryway as I carry most of his weight. I struggle to get him up to my room while quieting him all the way there.

Once in my room and at the bed, I let go of him. Thankfully, he falls towards the bed, landing halfway on the mattress and halfway off of it. I do my best to put the other half of him the rest of the way on the bed, and then just stare at him for a moment before walking out and slowly towards Zach's room only to hear him snoring away. So, Stefan then.

I walk up his extra set of stairs and poise my hand to knock, but the door is whipped open before my skin even makes contact with the wood. The action startles me into a jerking motion, pulling my knocking fist to my chest as if to protect it. Stefan pulls me in and into a tight, protective hug. At first, I just stand there in confusion. I'm sure he wouldn't be that obsessed. That's when I remember that Zach finds out about the bodies that were left behind, and he accuses Stefan for it. Stefan is probably just freaking out because he was worried.

"Where have you been?" He interrogates.

"Joshua and I ended up having a lot of drinks out at the Grill," I admit.

He shuts the door and pulls me over to sit on the bed. He starts checking me over, I guess for any bite marks. When he's satisfied that I don't have any, he sighs in relief. He squats down in front of me with his forehead against mine.

"What's going on, Stefan?" I ask him, pushing him away a little to make him look at me. "Why are you freaking out?"

"Apparently, there were a bunch of bodies found around town," he answers. "A couple just outside of town on their way back from a concert, and a group of men on the outskirts of town in an abandoned house," Stefan explains.

"All of them were bitten by a vampire?" I question, pretending to be shocked.

"The group had their throats cut, but that was probably just the other vampire covering their tracks at the time."

He seems so sure that was a vampire. That's okay with me. I'm not looking to be caught any time soon. I watch Stefan stand up and walk over to a small-like, cluttered table in the middle of the room. He looks around for a few moments before turn back to me and crouching in front of me again. I wasn't expecting him to produce the necklace. _The_ necklace. The one he gives to Elena. The one I was wearing in that dream invasion with Stefan.

"Whoa," I comment. "This is beautiful."

I smile as I put the pendant up to my nose, taking a sniff.

"Is that-" I take another sniff before guessing, "Is that some kind of flower?"

I look at him for an answer as he fastens it around my neck.

"Yeah, it's a flower called vervain," he starts. "Vervain is toxic to vampires."

"And you're giving it to me?" I ask with a look of incredulousness. _Eat your heart out Elena._

"Well, the vervain is on the inside, so it won't hurt a vampire to touch it, but it will insure that they won't be able to compel you," he explains.

He holds the pendant in his bare hand as proof. Again squatting in front of her, he uses the necklace to pull her forward gently to give her a soft chaste kiss. We don't stop there.

THE NEXT MORNING…

I wake up to a dim light filtering into the room from the window above the bed. The curtains were wide open, so it's probably very early in the morning. I look over to see that Stefan is still asleep. Slowly, I get up and begin putting on my clothes from last night when I see movement from the window. It's Damon's crow again. I flip it off as I continue to dress before creeping out of the room and down the hall.

Zach is still snoring away in his room. I creep farther down the hall until I reach my room. Joshua is still completely passed out in the same position I left him in and crawl onto the part of the bed that isn't covered by a sprawled out, comatose, gay guy. If he doesn't call in "sick" today, I'll be surprised.

After about an hour, I managed to fall asleep, but I up waking up a few hours later only to find that I'm tangled up in a man's arms. I turn to look behind me as much as I can to see that it's only Joshua. I pry myself from his grasp and get up for a shower and a change of clothes. Joshua is still lying there sound asleep. If he's still asleep later, I'm totally stealing his car.

I walk downstairs for something to eat and coffee. After a bowl of cereal and a cup coffee from my secret stash that Zach hasn't tainted with vervain, I check on Joshua. Unfortunately, he was awake. Barely, but awake.

I grab my purse and phone and stop to look at him. He slowly sits up and looks at me with bleary eyes and a pale face.

"I guess I'm going to Carol's on my own, then?" I ask him while he looks around to gage his surrounds.

I'm sure he blacked out long before we left the Grille. He still doesn't speak and just flings himself back down on the pillows with the intent on falling back to sleep. I stare at him for a moment before snatching up the keys from the bedside table and making my way down to his vehicle.

I pull up to the front of the house, seeing Richard walk out and towards his car. He notices me still in the car I procured from Joshua, he walks over with a smug smile and opens my door for me. He even helps me out of the car like a gentleman. So full of himself… He grins and checks me out as he walks over to his own car and leaving.

After he's gone, I lock the car with the key fob as I roll my eyes and make my way inside. Just another boring charity meeting. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to keep me entertained now.

After a few hours of finalizing everything for the founders' shindig coming up in a couple of weeks, I spend the rest of the day with Zach and a finally awake and mostly okay Joshua. He went home around two o'clock, leaving Zach and I to have some alone time before Stefan comes in. Joshua reminded me that the bonfire party for the beginning of the school year is tonight. I'd love to go, just to witness the drama and mess with Stefan and Elena's relationship a bit, but I feel it would be too weird.

Stefan arrives a couple of hours later while Zach is lounging on the couch with me. He gets ready to head out to The Falls. As he's getting ready, Zach decides to cook a little something for the two of us since we haven't spent much time together recently. While Zach is cooking still, Stefan comes down. Before he leaves, he stops by the couch.

"Hey," I greet him. "Going out finally?" I ask.

He nods as he leans on the back of the couch and glances towards the kitchen, checking on the whereabouts of Zach. When he's satisfied that we're safe, he focuses back on me while grabbing the hand laying on the back on the couch. He gives it chaste kiss.

"About time..," I jest in mischief.

He scoffs with a ghost of a smile, pulling back and leaving the room to set off for The Falls. I holler out a 'have fun' just for good measure.

After having dinner with Zach, we were moving things to the bedroom when we hear someone rush in through the front door and stomp their way up the stairs. We were met by Stefan as he reaches the hallway.

Zach approaches him worriedly and asks, "What's going on?"

Stefan brushes past him as he replies, "Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me."

Zach looks at me, realizing I heard all of that. Of course, he still thinks I'm oblivious to the whole vampire thing.

"You know," he flicks his head in Stefan's direction. "I think he's on drugs," he produces with a nonchalant shrug. "I'll have a talk with him in the morning about it."

After that, he rushes off to his own room without another word.

_So, no sex then?_

I shrug my shoulders and make my way to Stefan's room. I'm about ready for shit to start happening. Well, some of the shit. Instead of knocking, I just let myself in.

"Okay," I begin. "Now, what happ-" I cut myself off.

Both brothers stand in the room, looking at me with different expressions. Damon's was a look of smugness as he looks me over. There may have been a slight image of annoyance, probably remembering how we left off last time. Stefan has this intense fear on his face. I assume it was because he's afraid Damon would just kill me to be the asshole he is.

"You," I say to Damon with narrowed eyes and a point of my finger.

"Me," he replies back with that famous smirk of his.

Stefan looks between the two of us. His look of terror slowly slips into confusion when realization dawns on him. He stands up straighter before addressing this new information.

"Wait," he says shortly. "You two know each other?" he questions in bewilderment.

"If by know him you mean that I know him as the guy who creeped on me at the Grill last night, then yeah, I know him," I divulge while crossing my arms and portraying an annoyed expression.

Damon lets out a scoff, shaking his head with a peeved smile.

"When'd you get here?" Stefan asks incredulously now that he knows Damon was here the day before.

"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school," came Damon's sassy response. "Your hair's different; I like it."

The two of them continue on, talking about the past and bickering like siblings do. I tune back in to hear Damon trying to rat me out.

"I've managed to keep myself busy," he says suggestively while looking at me with hunger and biting his lip.

I look at him with false confusion before accusing, "Did you just confess to spying on me like a stalker with a peeping tom problem?"

Stefan lightly guides me to stand behind him to shield me from Damon's gaze. Damon looks at the both of us with a smile of realization. He ends his gaze on me as I indicate that Stefan is wrapped around my little finger by wrapping the necklace Stefan gave me around my pinky finger. A proud smirk fits nicely on my face as if it's meant to be there.

After a few more words, they bring up Elena and how she's not Katherine. I can't help but roll my eyes at that statement. No, she's just not _as bad as_ Katherine. Damon, of course, caught the action.

"Tell me something," he directs to Stefan. "When's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?" he asks mischievously as he glances as me.

I raise an eyebrow at him. Bitch thinks he's got privileges, huh? Stefan moves more in front of me to remove me from Damon's view as best he can.

"I know what you're doing, Damon," he says with some underlying warning tone. "It's not gonna work," he states confidently.

Damon, thinking he's got more of an upper hand or something similar to do with his need to be in control of everything and everyone, questions, "Come on; don't you crave a little?"

He uses his vampiric speed to whip behind the both of us and grabs me around my waist before backing away a little from Stefan's attempt to snatch me back. He sniffs up the left side of my throat before continuing to taunt his brother.

"Let's do it," he eggs Stefan on. "We can just have Rayna here," he tempts with his fangs sticking out as if he's about to bite into me.

"Stop it!" Stefan demands. Though because he's a pansy, he backs down with a plea of, "Just let her go Damon." He even throws in a little 'please' for good effort.

"Imagine what her blood tastes like!" he continues to torment Stefan.

Those black veins fill in under Stefan's eyes, turning the whites dark red. His own fangs sharpen, as well.

"I can," Damon continues just before inching his mouth towards the jugular vein in my neck.

"I said stop!" Stefan screams in rage.

He runs towards us with his own vampiric speed. I get shoved to floor, hard, and Stefan manages to get Damon out the window. Though, I can't hear them anymore, I know that Damon is taunting Stefan some more about not being vampire enough to defeat him. With Damon in his mastermind mode, he didn't notice me remove his daylight ring while I was clawing at hands to release me. I'm sure he's showing Stefan how easy it is to take from him by giving his younger, weaker brother's ring back to him. By the time I reach the window, I actually witness him tossing the ring back to Stefan. That's when he notices his own ring is missing.

I walk away and manage to make it to my room before Damon is once again behind me. He grabs my upper arms from behind – gentle but firm. He burrows his nose into my hair right behind my ear. He takes another big whiff of the scent of my blood.

"You know," I begin quietly. "When Stefan is this close to me, the last thing on his mind is ripping my throat out like his ripper instincts tell him to." Damon stiffens behind me as I continue just as softly, "Yet here you are, the picture of bloodlust control, and you can't get enough of the delicious smell."

His hands tighten slightly before he spins me around. Nose-to-nose, he stares intensely at me. I can't tell if he's trying to be intimidating or seeing if I'll make an intimate move first. I stare back just as intensely but in a calmer manner. He appears to have caved a little bit because his intensity softens ever so slightly. He moves his left hand down my right arm, sliding his fingertips down my skin. He reaches my right hand and gently takes his ring. As soon as the massive piece of jewelry is removed, I return the caress by running the fingers of my right hand up the fabric of his sleeve. They go all the way up until reaching the hairline at the base of his skull. My nails scratch lightly as I lean towards his right ear to whisper.

"Don't underestimate what I'm capable of, Damon," I warn him. I rake my nails along his jaw, allowing my index nail to drag his bottom lip down a bit before removing my hand completely and admitting, "I also know what you're capable of, which is why I'm going to be the better person because we both know that I'm the mature one here," I continue condescendingly.

He smirks a little and releases his grip completely, but he still stands in front of me in my personal space, watching me.

"I'm going to give you some advice," I offer while still whispering as quietly as I can, knowing his vampiric hearing will pick it up. "I know you enjoy playing with your toys, I mean I have three of them so far… Three and a half," I proudly disclose. "But if you're not careful, you _will_ end up in the cellar," I declare.

He softly chuckles at that as he takes advantage of our proximity to check me out much closer. I'm just able to see the bottom of door from just over his shoulder. Two little shadows move into view. Someone is on the other side of the door. They haven't knocked yet, so I assume they're trying to listen.

I move away from Damon as I say, "Subtly, Damon. It's a lesson you need to learn."

The door then opens with Stefan standing there. He scowls at Damon and makes his way to me to be sure that I'm okay. Damon leaves after that, closing the door behind him. If he's smart, he'll take my advice, but I'm sure he's going to the Grill to continue the storyline where he catches Caroline's attention. He'll learn eventually. He'll learn to do exactly what I tell him to do.

***A/N 5: **SOMETHING FUNNY HAPPENED BEFORE POSTING THIS** – again, sorry for the wait. I started watching Stumptown on Hulu, and on Season 1 Episode 5, something happened that made me pause the show and laugh about it. Coincidentally, it has something in common with this story. The scene with Damon and Rayna at the Grill where she has the knife at his dick. Something similar happened in this episode of Stumptown. I was shocked that I had written that a week before I had even started watching this show. Hilarious! LOL! Anyway, onward!


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